Valleyview Middle School- Denville, NJ

ALICE Training took place in Denville, which was hosted by the township’s police department and board of education. Lakeview Elementary School Vice Principal Evan Scala played the role of the shooter and then a victim in the classroom and found the exercises informative. “It’s about modifying what we currently have, giving teachers choices,” Scala said. “Empowering them to make decisions in their own classrooms, whether that’s evacuating or barricading as opposed to a typical lockdown, shutting the door and turning the lights off.” Scala said it takes eight minutes to get from Denville Police headquarters to Lakeview, and faculty need to know they can make decisions in those crucial minutes before they arrive. Kinnelon Lt. Joseph Napoletano said the training afforded him a different perspective. “On the law enforcement side, we’re the ones going in the door when something like this happens,” Napoletano. “I liked the thinking outside the box, not sitting around and waiting, encouraging people to stay active and pre-plan to think about what could be used in your room as a barricade.” Read more