Lura Sharp Elementary school, built in 1939 and having originally housed grades K-12 until 1969, still stands today. There have been many upgrades and improvements to the structure over the years. Asbestos has been removed, windows replaced a few times, the light brick has been fixed up, new bushes, an annex in 1956.
It wasn’t until over 70 years later that bullet proof glass and a reinforced safety partitioning of the impressive main lobby took place. The building that once welcomed fresh air from Lake Ontario through side doors propped open now has metal detectors, intercoms, and worried students behind her walls.
These improvements to this well established building are a horrifying commentary on the direction of our society today. Our children should always feel safe within the walls of any school. Our children should always be safe at school. Barricades, fences, bullet proof glass, and metal detectors is not the answer.
Better gun laws are the answer.
