MASON, Ohio — The Mason City School District received 279 tips to its Safe Schools Tip Line during the 2023-2024 school year, resulting in 10 police wellness checks or immediate crisis services, nine out-of-school suspensions, and seven threat assessments.
The Greater Cincinnati school implemented the tip line 20 years ago and uses the data each year to re-evaluate safety and response to campus concerns, WLWT reports. The state of Ohio now requires all schools to use a state-wide reporting system or an equivalent.
Mason City Schools officials say concerns regarding student self-harm and suicide have risen drastically, making up more than 30% of all reports.
“It mimics that the anxiety and depression and the real risk that our kids face,” said district spokesperson Tracey Carson. “But I think what it also says is that kids aren’t alone, that they’re that their peers want to get them help.”
RELATED: ‘Is that a Threat?’ Teaching People to Say Something When They See Something
Officials also received tips related to bullying (14.2%), bias (11.1%), substance use (7.1%), and threats of violence (3.7%). A 2020 report from the U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC), “Protecting America’s Schools: A U.S. Secret Service Analysis of Targeted School Violence,” determined that in 80% of school shooting incidents between 2008 and 2017, the shooters had displayed threatening or suspicious behaviors that went unreported.
“By strongly making stepping up and saying something part of our comment culture, we really believe that we actually are saving lives and keeping our schools safer,” Carson said. “Students themselves really view this tip line as a resource for them.”
5 Ways to Encourage Students to Report Threats
To help K-12 schools improve and encourage reporting, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) School Safety Task Force and NTAC partnered to create “Improving School Safety Through Bystander Reporting: A Toolkit for Strengthening K-12 Reporting Programs.” The toolkit provides simple, evidence-based strategies and guidance that K-12 schools and districts can use to implement and enhance safety reporting programs and create a school environment where students are more willing and able to report their concerns.
The following five strategies are promising practices that schools and school districts should consider implementing to bolster their student bystander reporting programs:
- Encourage bystanders to report concerns for the wellness and safety of themselves or others
- Make reporting accessible and safe for the reporting community
- Follow up on reports and be transparent about the actions taken in response to reported concerns
- Make reporting a part of daily school life
- Create a positive climate where reporting is valued and respected
Check out this Campus Safety article for more detailed advice from two specialists.
