There have been 87 school shootings since the 2012 tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut - and while the State of Delaware has passed some legislation addressing school safety, some school districts are exploring measures they can take to protect students.
In the Colonial School District, that's led to the introduction of bulletproof whiteboards with the help of State Sen. Nicole Poore.
Poore says she felt compelled to do something about school safety after hearing from a mother of a Sandy Hook Elementary School student.
“And one of the most riveting stories that I heard was from a mom who told me that when they found her child, her teacher had wrapped her body around the child, to protect the child, and, neither one survived,” she said.
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That story made her feel helpless - until she met George Tunis, an engineer who specializes in armor manufacturing. He offered a solution: bulletproof whiteboards.
Made from materials developed during the Iraq War by a Maryland company called Hardwire, the whiteboards are easy t o carry and can be used as shields. But they’re also safe and blend into the classroom. With Tunis’s help, Poore launched the bulletproof whiteboard pilot program in Colonial.
Tunis says he doesn’t worry about putting military technology in classrooms or the debate over gun control. As an engineer, he sees the whiteboards as an effective, low-impact - though somewhat macabre - approach to a problem. Tunis - who has two school-aged kids- says their beauty is their practicality.
“As an armor manufacturer, I realized that in their case, there were 92 teachers, 92 pieces of armor in the school, it would make them almost infinitely safer than if there were no armor in the school,” he said.
Today, Poore showed off the whiteboards to a group of teachers and reporters.
“You can take it wherever you go, you can go on a school bus, you can go out to the recess yard, you can hang it in your classroom,” she explained.
The Colonial School District has 121 of the bulletproof whiteboards, which normally cost around $400 each. But the District found sponsors like Monroe Energy and Delmarva Power to cover the cost.
