Edwardsville High School was evacuated on Thursday, Nov. 1 due to a threat discovered in a second-floor bathroom around 10:25 a.m. The “general” threat specified a time, so the school district had to act quickly.

“We take all threats seriously and began investigating the situation immediately,” Superintendent Linda Andre wrote in a statement.

A code move was initiated around 10:45 a.m., and students were evacuated to the Jon Davis Wrestling Center and the Chuck Fruit Aquatic Center across the street in the sports complex.

“Within a short amount of time, we determined that it was going to take a longer investigation, so I made a decision to call the code move,” Principal Dennis Cramsey said. “In less than 10 minutes, we had moved 2,600 students across the street, away from the high school, so that was pretty impressive.”

By 12 p.m., all students were accounted for, according to the Edwardsville Police Department, who got involved shortly after the threat was discovered. The EPD was working with the school district to determine the credibility of the threat, which included a canine search. Students were dismissed throughout the afternoon, and the building was then cleared about 1:15 p.m.

On Friday, the students were briefed on how to evacuate during fourth hour if the situation ever arose again. A normal code move drill is much like a fire drill, and EHS has about two drills a year to practice the code move procedure.

“I found the information we got Friday useful,” sophomore Emily Cecil said. “I feel more prepared for a future situation now that I know where to meet my class and what the code move drill means.”

The threat is still under investigation and administration and the police department are still looking into the perpetrator. Dr. Cramsey is proud of how the school reacted to a stressful situation.

“I think it’s so important for our students and our faculty and staff to know how well they responded to the code move,” Dr. Cramsey said, “but also how well they responded to each directive that was given along the way.”