District 742 to launch Say Something anonymous reporting system for grades 6–12

St. Cloud Public School District will launch the Say Something anonymous reporting program for sixth through 12th graders the week of March 17, the district announced during its March 12 board meeting.

District administrators said the program — provided through the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation and supported in part by the Department of Justice Stopping School Violence grant — combines classroom instruction with a multi‑portal reporting tool (app, web, text and phone) that forwards vetted tips to a 24/7 call center and then routes them to appropriate teams.

District leaders described Say Something as part of the district’s safety pillar and as a way to give students multiple, confidential ways to report concerning behavior. “There are many ways to say something. The best way is through a relationship with a trusted adult,” Gary Gange, executive director of special projects, said. He added that if a trusted adult is not available the portals allow students to remain anonymous.

According to Gange, all tips are first received by a call center staffed around the clock by trained counselors. The call center classifies tips as life‑safety or non‑life‑safety and routes them to one of four response teams: law enforcement (for life‑safety tips), a district team (assistant superintendents and executive director of operations), a special team for Title IX or staff‑related tips, and a local school team (building administration, counselors and social workers). After‑hours life‑safety tips first go to the district team, which decides whether to involve building staff.

The district said the app will be preloaded on all secondary Chromebooks, and that posters and QR codes will be posted in buildings to help students access the portal. Classroom instruction on recognizing warning signs and identifying trusted adults will be delivered during Tiger Time, Eagle Time and Colt Time in secondary schools; family communications in three languages will be distributed the week of rollout.

The district has trained internal teams, law enforcement partners and crisis counselors and completed tip‑testing exercises. Sergeant Kleinfelter of the St. Cloud Police Department helped draft a protocol so patrol officers — not campus resource officers — handle life‑safety tips and then return information to a designated district point of contact for follow up.

“We wanted to make sure we are creating more work for the 911 call center,” Kleinfelter said, describing the mapping and routing protocols the agencies agreed to. Gange said six law enforcement agencies — St. Cloud PD, St. Joseph PD, Waite Park PD, Stearns County Sheriff, Benton County Sheriff and Sherburne County Sheriff — are aligned on the protocol and will receive tips routed by the call center.

Board member Natalie Copeland said parents she has spoken with responded positively. “I just really like it,” Copeland said. “There can’t be any hesitation on our part to roll out all of the ways to keep our kids safe.”

Board members asked about likely tip volume; district staff said response varies and that volumes usually spike on rollout before stabilizing. The district said the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation provided grant support and that the Say Something implementation tied to that grant will be funded for three years; program representatives told the board they expect no ongoing cost to the district for the core reporting system as delivered through the foundation grant.

District staff noted additional steps ahead include continuing support for school teams on tip management, evaluating a new Say Something curriculum for grades 4–5 and ongoing communications and training for staff and families.

The district plans to monitor tip volume and technical performance and to continue coordination with law enforcement and principals as the system becomes operational.