Dear SGI Families
Springville Schools is committed to creating and sustaining a coordinated effort to improve the overall safety and well-being of our students, educators, and our community at large.
I am happy to report that Springville-Griffith Institute is joining several schools in our area to adopt the: Say Something Anonymous Reporting System (SS-ARS) for grades 6-12. This program teaches students, teachers, and administrators how to recognize warning signals and threats, on social media, in school, or in their community, from individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and Say Something to a trusted adult OR use its anonymous reporting system. Specifically, the program educates students and adult participants to:
- Recognize the signs and threats of at-risk behaviors
- Take every sign and signal seriously and act quickly to get help by talking to a trusted adult, OR
- Report it anonymously to the SS-ARS 24/7/365 Crisis Center via a mobile app, website, or telephone hotline
- Respond to and manage the submitted tips using a tip management system overseen by a designated school team
- Sustain the curriculum and awareness via student clubs, in-school activities and call-to-action weeks
SS-ARS teaches them what to look for in text messages, video and photos while empowering them to act quickly to help a fellow student. The program also teaches students to recognize at-risk behaviors in friends and classmates at school and in their local community. The SS-ARS program is provided by Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), a nation-wide non-profit organization. SHP’s programs are in 50 states – with 14,000+ schools and over 12 million students and adults trained.
“See something, Say something” is a mantra we have used with our students over the past several years. We need to watch out for one another and our students do very well with being advocates for themselves and others. We are confident that the Say Something Anonymous reporting system will be an important addition to our school district.
Springville Middle School and Springville High School will be rolling this program out to our students on November 16-17.