As the school grew older, it became overcrowded and its demographics began to change with increasing numbers of disadvantaged students.

[5] In 2010 a newly-opened elementary school took many of the wealthiest children who previously attended Plaza Towers.

The storm destroyed the school building and killed seven third-grade students when the wall they had been seated against while bracing for the tornado collapsed onto them.

In a broadcast with CNN, Piers Morgan held a live interview with Mikki Davis, whose 8-year-old son Kyle was among those killed at Plaza Towers.

[10] Betsy Gunzelmann, author of Developing Safer Schools and Communities for Our Children: The Interdisciplinary Responsibility of Our Time, wrote that lives could have been saved if such a room was present.

[11] According to Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management Albert Ashwood, the cost of a safe room would have ranged from $600,000 to $1 million.

[9] A civil engineer who serves as an associate professor and as the director of the Donald G. Fears Structural Engineering Lab at the University of Oklahoma, Chris Ramseyer, examined photographs of the third grade building and concluded that the construction of the third grade center was flawed as the rebar in the reinforced concrete walls was not long enough.

[12] The current building has a portion considered to be a "safe area" under Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) standards.

This includes a hallway which, in order to limit injuries due to flying debris during a tornado, has no windows, as well as four classrooms with attached bathroom facilities.