In its ongoing commitment to a holistic approach to supporting social-emotional-mental health for all, Southwestern Central School District is launching a “Say Something” Anonymous Reporting System in partnership with Sandy Hook Promise and Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES. 

Say Something-ARS, possible via a grant from BOCES, teaches students in grades 6-12, as well as teachers and administrators, how to recognize at-risk behaviors, warning signals and threats on social media, in school, or in their community, of people who may be a threat to themselves or others.  

It encourages reporting concerning behavior to trusted adults, using an anonymous reporting system via the district website or calling a 24/7 crisis hotline for schools or 911 for help. Nicole Hockley, co-founder, and CEO of Sandy Hook Promise, lost her first-grade son Dylan at Sandy Hook Elementary School in a mass shooting there in December 2012. 

The system is a preventative step toward decreasing violence and is designed to teach students life-long skills to help identify at-risk individuals in school and within the community. Southwestern students received interactive training on the system in December 2022.Faculty was presented with the information during staff meetings and via email. 

Say Something-ARS also provides educational tools, and in-school awareness materials including posters and stickers to help make the initiative more visible in the community. It also encourages the creation of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise clubs. Southwestern’s anti-bullying clubs include Allies for Diversity at the high school and Student Counsel at the middle school. 

Learn more at www.sandyhookpromise.org.