School to Construct Safe Rooms for Every Classroom

CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The design of a new elementary school set to open in 2015 in Cleveland, Tenn., will include a safe room in every individual classroom for security against heavy storms and school trespassers. Once completed, the school could be considered the safest in the state, according to Martin Ringstaff, the district’s superintendent.

The school is currently in the conceptual design phase but is projected to have between 28 to 30 safe rooms, one safe room per classroom. The Upland Design Group, based in Crossville, Tenn., is designing the safe rooms to meet the guidelines and standards of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

“The most important advantage is the speed that teachers could get students into the localized safe rooms during an event as compared to moving their students through the corridors to a central group safe room location within the school,” said Brian Templeton, principal architect at Upland Design Group.

Each safe room, which will be about 140 square feet and lock from the inside, will be constructed of reinforced concrete masonry with a structural concrete ceiling to provide a hardened enclosure, Templeton said. Directly accessible from inside the classroom, the safe rooms will have the ability to withstand winds up to 250 mph and provide emergency lighting and ventilation.

Cleveland City Schools became interested in incorporating safety features into the design of the upcoming $18 million elementary school due to the frequency of tornadoes the area has seen in recent years. In April 2011, tornadoes ripped through the city, demolishing Blue Springs Elementary School.

“We conceived the idea of individual safe rooms and discussed the concept with their administrators and teachers,” Templeton said. “The idea took root and has been embraced by the local community.”

During regular class time, the safe rooms will function as an oversized storage closet giving a dual purpose to the space, Templeton said.

“We plan on providing fixed storage casework along one wall of the safe rooms,” Templeton said. “The teachers liked the idea of getting most of the storage out of the classroom, thus freeing up more wall space for displays and/or learning centers. “

The safe rooms at the school would allow teachers to provide safety to their entire classroom within seconds.