The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction has partnered with Sandy Hook Promise to deliver an application system in which middle and high school students can anonymously report safety threats. The app, called the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System (SS-ARS), will work in conjunction with a 24-hour crisis hotline and a website.
The platform will feature certified multi-lingual counselors trained in suicide and crisis management, and will triage all tips to “Life Safety” or “Non-Life Safety” to prioritize and route to the proper channels. Students, parents, educators, and others can download the app.
“Students play a critical role in helping to keep schools safe,” State Superintendent Mark Johnson said in a news release. “They may see and hear concerns that adults need to know about, but may be reluctant to report it.”
In 2015 and 2016, the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools—a part of the N.C. Department of Public Instruction—piloted an app in five school districts. The results yielded tips related to bullying at 39 percent, danger at 25 percent, drugs at 24 percent, weapons and fighting at five percent each, and underage drinking at two percent. In the state budget bill for 2018-19, the Tar Heel State’s General Assembly included the development of a statewide application.
“With the say something program, middle and high school students will better understand the warning signs to look for and when and how to report important tips through an app,” Johnson said.
