Safety is tricky. Parkland's HS had an armed cop stationed full-time on campus, as I understand the situation - yet he couldn't stop the rampage. I'm not even sure what he did, if anything during the six-minute shooting spree.
Locally, two kids got shot at my local high school a couple of months ago. It was local news, but didn't made the Big News - it was a fight just off-campus over a girl. 20 years ago it would have been a shuffle. Now, a Glock is involved. Both kids survived, fortunately. There was a cop on the campus, but by the time he got the info the shooting was long over.
Do we need to build really big bunkers to educate our kids? Whew. Up-Armor our classrooms with Kevlar insulation on the walls and bullet-proof glass for the windows?
Since the early 1980s, NYC has equipped its high schools and middle school with metal detectors, single-entry access, and back-pack inspections, It seems to work. Parkland's HS/MS had a sprawling campus with many buildings and many entrances. They may need to reconfigure their campus.
One issue remains: what do we do with our angry, defiant children? How do we help them become worthy citizens? When I worked in foster care with sex offenders, I used to preach to my colleagues that young men who care about others don't need rules. They will automatically do the right thing regardless of the circumstances. I'm not against rules, and they certainly provide a wonderful structure that is absolutely necessary at times - but the bigger goal, and tougher task - is to help our kids care about others, develop the courage to ask for help, and feel loved and worthwhile.