Drug Sweep at Ellington High School Part of New Policy

ELLINGTON, CT — Ellington High School went into lockdown mode on Wednesday morning for a police drug sweep endorsed by a policy change.

The policy was adopted in October to promote a substance-free campus.

Trained narcotics officers and dogs participated in the unannounced sweep.

The policy dictates that people and occupied classrooms are not to be searched.

Ellington High School principal John Guidry outlined the activity in a letter to parents:

"As you may recall, Dr. (Scott) Nicol sent out an email earlier this year outlining our Board Policy related to the Use of Dogs to Search School Property.

"[Wednesday] we had our first exercise under that policy. At approximately 8:10 a.m., Ellington High School went into a soft lockdown, with teaching and learning continuing behind classroom doors while law enforcement personnel and drug sniffing dogs moved through the building assessing student lockers. After sweeping the building, the team moved outside to assess our student parking areas.

"At the conclusion of the parking lot search, the soft lockdown was released and our school day proceeded normally.

"Again, [Wednesday's] activity is just one of many preventive measures the Ellington Public Schools takes to ensure the safety of our schools. Please feel free to reach out directly to me with any questions."

Photo Credit: Chris Dehnel