Weston rolls out Sandy Hook Promise ‘Say Something’ anonymous tip line for secondary students

Weston School District announced this week that it has begun rolling out the Sandy Hook Promise Say Something anonymous reporting system for Weston Middle School and Weston High School students, officials said Oct. 8 during the district curriculum subcommittee meeting.

District staff and the Weston Police Department will receive reports that the system’s nationally accredited crisis center vets and triages in real time, said Dan DeVito, director of information technology. Tips can be submitted by mobile app, a web form hosted on the district site or by hotline, and tipsters choose from about 30 tip types, including cyberbullying, drug use, self-harm, threats of a school attack and harassment.

The system routes non–life‑safety tips to the school team for response during normal business hours; life‑safety tips are routed simultaneously to the school, district team and Weston Police Department dispatch so public‑safety personnel can be reached immediately, DeVito said. “The fact that this has an actual certified counselor working in the background with the tipster is what really sets this apart,” he said.

District leaders said training for students and staff is under way. Weston is running assemblies for middle school students the same day as the meeting and for high school students the following day; those sessions use Sandy Hook Promise lesson videos and guidance so students understand how to submit a tip and what happens after they do. The district also plans follow‑up advisory lessons and materials for parents and staff.

“We want every student to feel comfortable reaching out to a trusted adult,” Superintendent Forte wrote in a community newsletter read at the meeting. The newsletter, read aloud by a staff member, described the Say Something tool as an additional option for those who feel “nervous or unsure about speaking up in person.”

District staff said the vendor provides posters, QR codes and a digital learning center for self‑guided staff training; the district will place links in students’ ClassLink dashboards and on the district website and distribute parent communications. The police department and school resource officers have agreed to partner on the program, officials said.

DeVito described vendor averages that give a sense of likely tip volume: in an enrollment of about 500, the vendor estimates roughly 14 daytime tips, of which two might be life safety; a higher number of tips typically occurs at launch and then levels off. The vendor told the district that about 4% of tips are false reports or pranks; those are marked and delivered for informational purposes.

Board members and administrators discussed outreach: multiple reminders to students and parents, posting large QR codes during assemblies, placing links in students’ ClassLink and running posters and digital signage so the tool remains top of mind. Officials agreed to supply anonymized usage reports to the board and appropriate safety committees so the district can track whether the tool is being used and surface categories of concern for follow up.

Votes at a glance The subcommittee also handled routine business at the Oct. 8 meeting. Members voted to approve prior meeting minutes (June and September) and later moved to adjourn; both motions were seconded and approved unanimously.

What’s next Weston will continue training and launch steps this week. District staff said they will collect and report anonymized usage data to the safety committee and the board on a recurring schedule and will refine parent and student outreach based on early uptake.

Source notes: Excerpts of the district newsletter and Dan DeVito’s presentation were read and discussed during the curriculum subcommittee meeting on Oct. 8, 2025.