
Students,
parents, and community members can access an anonymous tip line to
report a potential school-related crisis, inappropriate behavior, or
suspicious activity to school administrators.
Stickers
and posters advertising the tip line and its recently changed phone
number will be posted in all 32 district schools and support buildings.
The new toll-free number is 1-855-782-0798. The line is available 24
hours a day, seven days a week and can be accessed year-round.
Tips
can be called in about safety issues such as weapons, bomb threats,
fights, bullying or harassment, abuse, arson, criminal activity, gang
activity, suicide, vandalism, and theft, said Barb Pope, director of
student services and school safety.
If
the person who calls is also the person who is contemplating suicide,
he or she is connected immediately to a trained counselor at the Suicide
Prevention Hotline.
The
line is monitored by SafeSchools, an organization that the Puyallup
School District also partners with to provide online safety training
classes for its employees.
It
provides a confidential option, Pope said, for parents and students who
might fear reprisal, don’t know how to access other communication
tools, or need to report volatile information after school hours or on
the weekend.
Callers
have the option, she said, of leaving a message or speaking directly
with an operator. All calls are documented and disseminated to the
appropriate school district authority to investigate and take action as
needed, Pope said.
If
an urgent call is received after school hours, district and/or school
administrators receive a call on their home or cell phone numbers, she
said.
Callers who speak directly to operators receive a case number and can call back in several days for an update about their call.
There
is no cost for the service, Pope said. The district is also eligible
for a discount on its annual insurance policy by providing the
SafeSchools Alert number to students and the community.
The
new tip line is the next in a series of steps the district has taken to
ensure student safety. A weapons hotline will continue to be advertised
in student handbooks, and wooden boxes have been available in many
school offices to collect anonymous tips, Pope said.
Students,
parents, and community members are encouraged to continue to contact a
school administrator or other staff member directly with concerns, Pope
said.
Click to view or print the SafeSchools Alert flier.