Four district schools went into lockout on Wednesday, Sept. 18 because of a nearby police search for a fleeing murder suspect named Ali Ali.
The trouble began when around 6:30 a.m., Ali crashed his vehicle on the New York State Thruway and proceeded to flee on foot. While this was happening, the school day at Monroe-Woodbury continued as usual, as it was decided through discussion with the school resource officer and Director of Security and Emergency Preparedness Mr. Tripodo, that he was far enough away to not pose a threat.
That changed when Ali moved closer to the district. The police department called to suggest a lockout, beginning around 10:45 a.m. for Monroe-Woodbury High School, Monroe-Woodbury Middle School, Central Valley Elementary, and Smith Clove Elementary.
“I wasn’t surprised because I knew what happened in the morning. It wasn’t a major surprise. A lockout is not a lockdown, which is as serious as it gets. So, you know, calm, cool, collected, get on the PA, let the building know,” said Mr. McElroy, interim principal for Monroe-Woodbury High School.
According to Mr. McElroy, a lockout is used for threats outside the school. Nobody is allowed to enter or exit the building, but activities may proceed as normal. A lockout is different from the similarly-named lockdown, where movement within the building is not allowed. His main priority was moving students outside for gym back into the building.
When the lockout was first called, some teachers were unsure if a lockdown or lockout was in place. Mr. McElroy stressed the importance of repeating instructions to ensure the protocol is clear.
The situation began to change as typical dismissal time for the high school approached. At around 1:45 p.m., the decision was made to delay high school dismissal by one hour. The lockout was immediately replaced by a hold-in-place, meaning that students were to remain inside their classrooms.
“Only because people were getting antsy. People wanted to leave. And we wanted to make sure everyone sat tight,” explained Mr. McElroy.
Throughout the incident, high school students received updates through the PA, and parents received updates through email. Speculation about the events outside ran through the high school.
“I thought nothing of it. Then all of a sudden I’m hearing about this fugitive of the law. It’s just crazy,” said senior Cam Haberlin.
Students made hushed phone calls in the back of the classroom. One teacher described the issue as a “guy running around without shoes.”
“I just wish the school would tell us more instead of just some guy running around without shoes. It makes me a bit nervous, but obviously I’m in school so,” said senior Betsy Torres Fidel.
Buses for the high school arrived at around 2:30 p.m., but the hold-in-place remained until around 2:55 p.m. when students were allowed to leave, after the suspect had been shot and killed by police in Woodbury.
“Communication had already went out to families that we were delaying one hour. And if we dismissed early, then it would make all the buildings dismiss a little bit earlier, and parents of little ones need to be aware of when their child is arriving,” said Mr. McElroy.
The incident served as a learning experience for Monroe-Woodbury. Mr. McElroy shared that they are working on coordinating the SWIPE systems, which allow staff to gain access to the building using their ID badge, so the systems will lock when the building goes on lock down to prevent anyone from using that system to enter the building.
“I couldn’t be more pleased. The students were fantastic. The teachers were amazing, they kept their students calm. They stepped up at the end of the day when things got a little more tricky because kids wanted out, teachers wanted out,” said Mr. McElroy.
More recently, a lockout was ordered again at Central Valley Elementary, Monroe-Woodbury Middle School, and Monroe-Woodbury High School on Tuesday Oct. 15 after a bear was spotted in the area. The lockout was lifted around noon, echoing a lockout enacted last school year due to nearby bear activity.