The Wake County Public School System is rolling out the "Say Something" app for the new school year.
The app is an anonymous reporting system that allows students, staff and parents to alert school leaders to anything that impacts school safety, including bullying, cyberbullying, drugs, weapons or a planned school attack.
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“Our kids may not tell us everything, but if we create an environment where they feel safe and they can come to us, they will come,” said Corliss Thompson-Drew, the district’s director of school psychology.
The program also teaches students, teachers and administrators how to recognize the signs and signals of at-risk behaviors.
“One of the things we want to do with students is educate them on 1) what are the signs to look for in themselves and their peers? We also want them to know 2) Who are the trusted adults, so I can share these concerns?” Thompson-Drew said.
Wake County is one of the last districts in our area to implement the Say Something program, which launched in some schools in North Carolina in 2019.
More than 5,000 schools already use the app. It comes from the Sandy Hook Promise. It’s a nonprofit focused on preventing gun violence in honor of the 26 people killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012.
Some of the district's year-round schools, including Herbert Akins Road Middle School, have been using the Say Something app since July. Since then, principal Anne Marie Adkins said the school has received 12 tips so far.
“There hasn't been a trend. We haven't seen any patterns yet,” she said. “A lot of the things we hear are things we hear already in schools.”
Adkins said the students and staff went through training to understand how to use the app and identify concerning behavior. She said the app has also empowered students to openly share concerns with trusted adults.
“We've also in addition to that had students after the lessons come up to us and say, ‘Hey, we think you should know this.' So, even some tips that weren't necessarily through the tip line,” Adkins shared.
The Say Something app is an addition to the district’s 24/7 anonymous reporting hotline, 919-856-1911, where anyone can report threats of aggressive behavior, bullying, potential threats, violence and weapons on campus.
A specially trained operator receives the caller’s information and asks for more information to address the situation.
Adkins said her school has a team of five that directly responds or follows up to reports made in the app, including herself, an assistant principal, counselor, social worker and psychologist.
When necessary, local 911 dispatchers can also respond to tips to protect student safety.
According to Wake County, the Say Something program will be rolled out in phases. Year-round, middle and high schools launched the program last month, and traditional middle and high schools will start the program in September.
Say Something will also be available for 4th and 5th graders at elementary schools at a later date during the 2024-25 school year, according to the district.
Want to download the Say Something app? It is free for Apple and Android devices.