The Upper Merion Area School District is committed to creating and sustaining a comprehensive, coordinated effort to improve the overall safety and well-being of our students, educators, support staff, and administrators. To do this, we believe this must involve community-wide programs and initiatives involving parents, teachers, administrators, local law enforcement, mental health & wellness professionals, and elected officials to take meaningful action to protect our students.
As a part of that effort, along with schools across our Commonwealth, we are sharing the “Safe2Say Something” (S2SS) anonymous reporting system. This program, which is mandated under PA state law / Act 44, teaches students, teachers, and administrators how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, of 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 participants to:
• Recognize the signs and signals of at-risk behaviors – especially within social media
• Take every sign and signal seriously; act quickly to get help by talking to a trusted adult OR
• Report it anonymously through the S2SS Office of the Attorney General 24/7 Crisis Center, mobile app, or website
• Respond to and manage the submitted tip via a school-based multi-disciplinary educator and administrator teams
• Sustain the curriculum and awareness via student clubs, in-school activities and call-to-action weeks
Our students often are aware of the problems their peers are facing, so we must empower them to know the danger signs and give them the tools to help each other with the assistance of trained and caring adults. As you know, most conversations are taking place on social media, therefore it is critical that we teach our students to be looking out for one another as these digital conversations are taking place. S2SS identifies what to look for in text, video and photos while empowering students to act quickly to help a fellow classmate.
The S2SS program is being provided through Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), a nation-wide non-profit organization. SHP’s programs are in 50 states – with 10,000+ schools and over 5.5 million students and adults trained. They have a track record, reputation, and knowledge of how to work effectively with kids, parents, and teachers to improve school safety and culture. The program is age-appropriate and research-based. They also have funding to provide and sustain the program at NO COST to our school (and all schools statewide). We anticipate that S2SS will be another intervention to help prevent school shootings, suicides, and gun threats; it will help to intervene in matters of bullying and cyberbullying; help improve attendance, school connectedness, and community relationships and partnerships.
You and your child may also view the overview prepared by S2SS and Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Links to the presentation are located below the Program Basics document, at the bottom of this page. Please be advised the PowerPoint presentation includes an intense video in slide #2 that you may want to preview prior to viewing with your child. If you and your child are interested in becoming a member of S2SS program, please visit https://www.saysomething.net/ to sign up.
The phone number is 1-844-SAF2SAY
The website is http://www.safe2saypa.org
Safe 2 Say Something Program Basics
