Wichita ? Classrooms in the new wing at Kensler Elementary School are unusually large and quiet, but what really makes them different is hidden from view: built-in protection against tornadoes.

At Kensler and 29 other schools in the Wichita district, so-called ‘safe rooms’ are being created to shelter students and staff from splintering glass, flying debris and winds up to 250 mph.

The work is being funded with a $285 million bond issue and federal storm-safety grants awarded after tornadoes in the spring of 1999 gave administrators a frightening glimpse of how vulnerable students could be.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency now points to the Wichita school district as the example to follow. Its brochures feature photos and descriptions of the storm damage and subsequent safe rooms built at Jefferson Elementary, Greiffenstein and Chisholm Life Skills Center.

The protection at Kensler Elementary starts with the 10-inch-thick concrete walls, as well as thick steel doors that can cover the windows. In addition, the roof of the new classroom wing has an extra layer of concrete and 12-foot-deep anchors on the foundation.

But the key to the safe room design lies in the welded connections between the roof, walls and floor, said architect Corey Schultz, who designed the addition at Kensler and another at McCollom Elementary School.