BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT) – The Safe 2 Say Something Anonymous Reporting Program is a statewide initiative to give students a chance to protect themselves and their schools, and the Brockway Area School District is making sure its teachers know what to expect.
The program is similar to one in Colorado, which that state put in place after the Columbine School Shooting. It is anonymous hotline, run by the PA Attorney General’s Office, that allows students to report potential bomb threats, shooting threats, bullying reports, and suicide threats. The program is available 24 hours a day, every day.
And since it’s the 21st Century, it even comes with an app.
Brockway Co-Principal Mark Dippold is the point person for Brockway’s Safe 2 Say Task Force. He said that the January 14 start date came quickly considering the state only sent out information last October. However, Brockway is ready to go.
“We’ll be talking to students about it and showing them how to use the app,” Dippold said. “As far as the teachers go, they will be trained as well. They are necessary to make sure the students are aware of the program.”
Dippold had a meeting with chiefs of police in the area as well as Pennsylvania State Police and the 911 Dispatch Center to make sure Brockway was ready for the rollout. The district also signed mutual aid agreements with the state police and the borough of police to help make sure everything was figured out.
When a call comes into Safe 2 Say, school officials and local law enforcement will be notified.
Brockway School Resource Officer Curtis Wise helped Dippold explain the program to the teachers.
“Most of the calls won’t be related directly to the school,” Wise said. “They’ll be reporting cyberbullying and things like that. Previous rollouts in other states have shown that hoaxes make up less than one percent of the calls.”
Wise also talked about the procedures that Brockway has in place to protect students. The school recently increased its security with extra locks on doors, screens on exterior windows, and a reduction of student entrances.
“You can’t come up with a procedure that covers all situations,” Wise said. “You do what you can and use your best judgement.”
Wise and Dippold hope that the Safe 2 Say rollout at Brockway will give students more confidence when they need to protect themselves or the school.
“This program is anonymous,” Dippold said. “If the students are afraid to tell us directly, they can call the number or use the app.”
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