Intruder drill helps prepare staff, students for crisis

     In a perfect world, an event such as the controlled intruder drill that was held at Monticello High School May 8 wouldn’t have to happen.

     “I hate it that we have to practice this, but it has become part of our new reality,” MHS Principal Joan Young said.

     The drill involved the Monticello Police Department, Superintendent Brian Jaeger, and the staff and students at MHS. Students knew in advance that it was coming, but not which day or what time.

     At 2 p.m. May 8, MHS secretary Kim Ralston made a mock 9-1-1 call about the intruder, and Young got on the school’s intercom system to announce it.

     Staff and students acted quickly; Young estimated that it took two minutes for the building to clear.

     “That was awesome,” Young said.

     Senior Anna Loes said: “I was in Ms. (Vallerie) Lynn’s P.E. class. We were running laps in the gym. They announced it over the loudspeaker, and Ms. Lynn was like, ‘OK, everyone needs to run to the tennis courts.’ ”

     Most of the students left through the building’s exits, but one class went out a window. Another stayed it its room behind a locked door, using the “shelter in place” strategy, believing that the intruder was too close to risk trying to flee.

     Police officers Dawn Graver and B.J. Tate located the intruder, played by officer Peter Fleming, ordered him to the ground and handcuffed him.

     The students congregated in two places: the tennis courts and the softball diamonds. In a true intruder situation, that would not be the case.

     “If this were real, you would not stay by the softball diamonds or the tennis courts. You would scram,” Young said.

     Students, Young said, would eventually check in at a pre-determined destination. For those who went home, parents and guardians would be asked to report to school officials that their student is safe.

     “We want to account for each and every student,” she said.

     Following the drill, students returned to the building (which would not be the case in a real event), and each class held a debriefing to talk about the drill. After school, teachers and staff met with Smith and Young in the auditorium to discuss it.

     Smith repeatedly told teachers and staff that there are no right or wrong answers when it comes to making quick decisions in such a situation.

     “It just depends on where you are in relationship to where that intruder is,” Smith said. “If you are in the bathroom and you somehow have heard what’s going on, and the information you’ve heard is that they are not near you, find the safest exit and get out.

     “We give you options, and you have to decide what’s the best option for you.”

     Those who spoke about the drill agreed that it was a positive experience.

     “Some students seemed relieved to be having a drill,” art teacher Jane Woodhouse said. “It’s something they’re concerned about.”

     Loes agreed.

     “We haven’t done one of those for a while, so it was kind of cool to actually get to do one so we knew what we were going to do,” she said. “I think the student response was pretty good.”

     The school plans to conduct the drill again in the fall, and will hold ALICE training for teachers and staff in August.

     “Hopefully we never have to use it, but at least we have prepared our students and our staff in case we do,” Young said.

     Smith added: “Our goal long-term is to be able to have our kids trained on that, so they are more aware of what options are out there for them. This was kind of the ice-breaker intro.”