Lockdown drill at school last week — Administration and cops on past threats

With schools across the country reviewing security measures after the murder of 19 children and two teachers in Texas this month, Shelter Island School has followed suit.

It has reviewed its numerous safety protocols — see shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com/2022/05/31/school-safety-on-shelter-island-plans-in-place-and-new-initiatives/?preview_id=59173&preview_nonce=154646daab&preview=true&_thumbnail_id=41505 — and held a lockdown drill on June 2 in conjunction with the Shelter Island Police Department.

School Superintendent Brian Doelger, Ed.D., said the purpose was to “simulate a lockdown in as much of a real-life situation as possible.”

Four times a year, Mr. Doelger said, there are lockdown drills to teach students and staff where to go and how to behave in the event of a threatening situation, plus there are eight evacuation drills each year.

A review of last week’s drill was sent “to staff along with an annotated version of our school safety plan,” Mr. Doelger said. “I also plan to provide a safety update at the next Board of Education meeting on June 13.”

School safety has been threatened twice in recent months. The first occurred on Dec. 16, 2021 and the second on Feb. 16 this year, as previously published in the Reporter .

The nature of the threats haven’t been revealed by the Police Department or the school, but Mr. Doelger said no specific student was threatened. Beyond that, he said he was “reluctant” to comment since he’s not allowed to discuss the discipline of a student.

Det. Sgt. Jack Thilberg said the December incident was “fully investigated and adjudicated.” It was determined, he said, that the appropriate response was to refer the incident back to school officials “for resolution through school policies and services.”

As for the incident in February, Sgt. Thilberg said originally the case “was under active investigation.” On Wednesday he said the Police Department and the school’s administration “have taken proactive measures to resolve this matter without the need for judicial intervention, at this time. The school and the police will continue to monitor the progress for an extended period, to insure a successful resolution.”