Small Oklahoma school district uses bulletproof shelters to keep kids safe
Healdton, Okla. March 3 2018 — As schools across the country scrutinize security in the wake of the Parkland, Florida shooting, a small district in Oklahoma is expanding its use of bulletproof classroom shelters.
Healdton Public Schools first installed the shelters in its elementary school in 2014. It followed with shelters in its middle school in 2017 and is now working to add them to its high school.
The school was initially motivated by a lethal tornado that tore through Moore, Oklahoma in 2013, although officials were concerned about shootings as well. In addition to being bulletproof, the shelters are designed to withstand natural disasters, according to The Daily Ardmoreite in Oklahoma.
Seven shelters are in place in Healdton schools already, according to KOCO in Oklahoma. The town, with a population of about 3,000, is about 100 miles south of Oklahoma City.
The district is one of numerous locations around the country to deal with threats against schools since the Parkland shooting earlier this month. A number of districts in Central and Upstate New York have investigated threats since the Florida incident as well.
The company that builds the shelters, Shelter-In-Place, even tested the one with Healdton Superintendent Terry Shaw inside before the initial installation, according to KOCO.
“I did not feel comfortable putting these in my building is I wasn’t willing to do it myself,” Shaw said, according to the station. “It was very surreal, but I felt very comfortable. Very safe.”
The structures can hold up to 35 students and two teachers.
The shelters in Healdton were the first to be installed in the country, KOCO said. Shelter-In-Place has since installed them in another Oklahoma district and is in talks with more.
“There will be security in knowing no matter what happens, it will be safe for me to pick them up in the evening,” said Melissa Hudson, a Healdton mother and president of the district’s parent-teacher organization.
