Weston Board adopts SaySomething anonymous reporting system for school tips

Weston Board of Education members voted June 16 to adopt SaySomething, an anonymous reporting system developed by the Sandy Hook Promise foundation, to collect tips from students, staff and community members about safety and other concerns.

Board members and district staff said the tool will provide multiple ways to report — a mobile app, a website accessible from school Chromebooks and a hotline — and that every submitted tip opens a real‑time conversation with trained crisis counselors at the SaySomething center.

District staff and public safety liaisons told the board the system triages tips into life‑safety and non‑life‑safety categories. Life‑safety tips are routed immediately to Weston Police Department and to a district notification team; non‑life‑safety tips are routed to building‑level contacts according to a routing chart the district will supply SaySomething.

The district emphasized that tips and any uploaded materials are delivered to the district; the SaySomething center does not retain full sensitive content beyond the initial handoff. Presenters said the system includes training materials and K–12 curriculum modules that districts can use in advisory periods or family outreach. Callouts for multilingual crisis support and 24/7 operation of the SaySomething center were highlighted.

Board members asked practical questions about student access (for middle school students this can be via Chromebooks and the website rather than by phone), whether adults may submit tips about adults (yes), and whether the district or town will provide financial support. Presenters said Sandy Hook Promise has supported many districts and that the board could consider a local donation after a trial period; staff agreed to report back with procurement and budget details.

The board approved the motion, "Move that the Weston Board of Education approve the anonymous reporting system as presented." The motion carried by voice vote.

District next steps include: finalizing the routing flowchart for each building; planning an implementation and training schedule for the fall (the board approved implementation to begin in the new school year); and posting materials for parents, students and staff. The district said legal counsel and the police department had reviewed the plan and that police training for dispatch and emergency communications is part of the onboarding package.

Why it matters: Board members and staff described SaySomething as a ‘‘plan B’’ to complement the district message that students should first tell a trusted adult. The district said the reporting tool is intended to lower barriers to reporting and to provide a faster, counselor‑assisted triage than products that rely solely on algorithmic ingestion.