Ark. students asked to help with school safety

By The Associated Press

FORREST CITY — Students are often reluctant to tell teachers about things they see at school - many out of fear of reprisal or fear of being labeled a snitch.

What if there was a way for students to remain anonymous in those instances? Would they take advantage of it?

That idea is being tried at Forrest City's middle, junior high and senior high schools. The name of the program is "Let's Talk About It." The school district recently received $2,000 to help set it up. It is one of several programs designed to reduce the dropout rate.

"Basically, we have a Rockefeller grant on dropout prevention," said Donald Bebee, project specialist with the National Center for Rural Law Enforcement. "They wanted us to not just do a study to figure out how much of a dropout problem we have, but to do something that is very useful, that schools can use."

According to Bebee, successful programs across the country were studied and chosen, and selected schools could pick from them to set up pilot programs.

"Ms. (Abbie) Robinson (high school principal) looked at two or three of them, and the Talk About It program was one of them," he said.

Carter B. Myers is a representative of Talk About It.

"The service is really about empowering students to play a role, not only in keeping themselves in school, but playing an active role in keeping the school safe and building a connected school environment," Myers said. "That word, 'connectiveness,' is a big buzz word in school safety these days. It basically underscores the fact that every child has a voice."

He said there is often an unwritten code of silence among children.

"And we haven't modernized the approach, we haven't given children a modern mechanism that is comfortable, that is anonymous, that is safe and that is reprisal-proof," he said.

He added that with the new program, students with access to a computer or texting can let selected faculty members know what's going on, and do it anonymously.

"We have to remember this. When children send messages, be it text or an e-mail, it is an intimate form of communication for today's children," Myers said. "We think that is weird, but that's how they ask people on a date, that's how they break up with boyfriends and girlfriends. What this service does is to build a bridge from those of us who didn't grow up with the Internet, into the world of our children today."

"I have been very excited about the program," Robinson said. "It's another avenue to assist our students in making sure they are safe. That is one of the key components we are looking for. It also gives students another avenue of contacting a staff member. I recognize that a lot of times, students may not come to me, but there are other staff members they will feel more comfortable talking to. And it's true that if there is something on campus that should not be on campus, the kids know about it."

Myers agreed.

"We have to admit, students know the most about what is happening in school. Nobody knows more. You can put a security camera in every nook and cranny, but they have more eyeballs than any amount of secret cameras you could imagine," he said.

"Ninety-nine percent of students are here to learn and achieve," Myers continued. "And this program can empower students to be a part of the solution, as opposed to having to walk though every metal detector and being considered as part of the problem."

Training sessions were scheduled in January for faculty and administrators, as well as student leaders. The student leaders will then train their fellow students.

Once the program is in place, toward the end of January, a student will be able to choose which teacher or administrator to contact. And the student can remain anonymous unless she or he decides to be identified.

"And it's not all bad," Myers said. "There are also thank yous and compliments. It underscores that children will use this mechanism."

Bebee said the program will be evaluated over two years to see if the dropout rate is affected.

"We know that if kids don't feel safe and secure in school, that is one of the major reasons they drop out," he said. "It's not the only reason, but it can be a reason. If they are bullied, if they feel unsafe, it's going to be a dropout reason."

For more information see Monday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.