I have never seen a school with a literal panopticon (a tower from which everything can be seen, and which can not be seen into). So then if not a literal panopticon, a metaphorical panopticon? Doesn't mirror my school experience either. Feeling was that the teachers had no idea what was going on most of the time. But I didn't go to school in the US, maybe that's why?

High schools in the US can sometimes get very close. There are often large schools of two to three thousand students and in a country with ample access to weapons, security becomes an issue very quickly.

Both university level and lower education levels in the US will probably have large security camera systems. I know some smaller schools can't quite afford it but the medium and large state schools can.

Technological panopiticons now, most doors are locked or alarmed and the remaining entrances have video surveillance. Windows even on the first floor are often limited from opening very wide. Many American schools also have a police officer on site and it’s not unusual for police to stop children outside of school grounds for truancy.