LUSD adopts plan to stop bullying, help suicidal teens
LODI — In an effort to better prepare for school violence or prevent bullying before it escalates, the Lodi Unified School District has partnered with a national nonprofit organization to introduce a new reporting system to students and parents in the coming weeks.
The district will soon train its staff, students and parents to use the Say Something-Anonymous Reporting System, according to spokeswoman Chelsea Vongehr.
The system was developed by Sandy Hook Promise, the organization formed by parents who lost children in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Newtown, Conn.
Vongehr said the system will allow district students, parents and teachers to report suspected bullying or suicidal teens to the a crisis center anonymously through the Say Something app, www.saysomething.net or (844) 5SAYNOW — (844) 572-9669 — hotline.
To submit reports or tips, a user must be associated with an LUSD school, according to a PowerPoint presentation Vongehr presented to the district’s Board of Education on Tuesday night.
Once a report has been submitted, a Say Something crisis counselor speaks with the tipster anonymously to gather as much information as possible.
The counselor then categorizes the tip as either “life-safety” or “non-life safety” based on the information provided.
Life-safety examples include an active shooter, a students suspected of cutting or self harm, or a physical assault, among other events.
Non-life safety examples include bullying or anti-bullying, inappropriate language or behavior, and sexual harassment, among others.
After categorizing the tip, the crisis center forwards a text, email or phone call to school officials or law enforcement, who then perform their own assessments and decide whether to intervene or take action.
“A life-safety tip is forwarded to law enforcement (24 hours a day, seven days a week), while non-life safety tip is sent to school personnel between the hours of 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays,” Vongehr told the board.” Say Something is a 24-hour crisis center, and their counselors have more than 35 years experience.”
It is anticipated, according to Say Something statistics, that once implemented district-wide, 6 percent of students will submit tips. As much as 60 percent of tips received will be categorized as life-safety, of which as much as 15 percent will be very serious.
Suicide, depression, anxiety, school violence, bullying and gang violence will most likely be the most common submissions. False claims will account for less than 1 percent of tips submitted, according to Say Something Statistics.
Sandy Hook Promise educators will train all school-based multi-disciplinary teams and law enforcement dispatch officials, as well as students and parents on the system.
Board approval of the system, as well as training and implementation, should take as much as 12 weeks.
Board members were excited to have the district partner with Sandy Hook Promise to bring the system to Lodi.
“The continuous flow of information is obviously something integral to this system,” board member Ron Heberle said. “Another component of this, is the communication back to school districts. My guess is someone (in the district) has to be designated as the receiver of any information brought back to us. I just want to make sure we are all part of that flow.”
For more information about the system, visit www.saysomething.net or www.sandyhookpromise.org.