District 742 Rolling Out New Threat Reporting System

(KNSI) – Wednesday’s presentation to the St. Cloud Area School Board was the final formality before a new threat reporting system is rolled out.

Executive Director of Special Projects Gary Ganje expects “Say Something” to be live by the end of the month. “We will be deploying to students next week, for our sixth through 12th grade students, or our secondary students. And they will be getting lessons on Say Something, and then we’ll be deploying the app as a reporting tool.”

Developed by the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation in the wake of a tragic shooting rampage that killed dozens of elementary school students and staff members in Connecticut, “Say Something” is another tool to avert someone from harming themselves or others. Ganje says the community already does a good job at being vigilant.

Ganje praises the curriculum, which is designed to keep students honest when using the system, rather than abusing it due to personal disputes. “There’s a difference for reporting to get someone in trouble and the difference for reporting to get someone help. And so that’s part of the instruction, obviously, to get someone into help, is why we’d want to be using this.”

The school district won a federal grant last year to help implement the program. Ganje runs through some of the other topics that are covered in the class. “What Say Something does, it provides a curriculum to talk about the importance of reporting. Also talk about warning signs, whether it be warning signs that that someone might see in their friend or on social media. It talks about reporting to a trusted adult.”

“Say Something” staffs a nationwide call center with certified crisis counselors. It takes the reports received and redirects them to law enforcement when necessary. Smaller complaints go to school staff, including principals, to address.

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