Following Moore Tornado Tragedy, Oklahoma Schools Make Storm Shelters A Priority

Jacob McCleland wrote for KGOU that five years after a major tornado, Oklahoma districts are building storm shelters in schools, despite variable funding and high costs. Support for this article was provided by the Weather Eye Award, an award given to distinguished local reporters by RiseLocal, a project of New America’s National Network.

Preschool students run tiny hands through a plastic tub of little blue beads that look like fish. They then scurry across the room to sing “The wheels on the bus” with their classmates.

It’s a bright, colorful, happy room here at the Canadian Valley Technical Center’s Child Development Center in El Reno, Oklahoma. And just a few steps down the hall, child care director Barbi Slimp opens the door to another room that’s just as cheerful.

“We have lots of soft furniture, and we have it set up in centers. And it’s a comfortable environment for the children,” Slimp says. “And they visit frequently so they’re not afraid to come in when it’s necessary.”

This room works as both a play room and a storm shelter. It’s one of five FEMA-certified shelters on the Canadian Valley campus.