For Andre King, school safety starts before a potential threat ever reaches any Mobile County Public School door. After more than a decade working investigations and intelligence with the Mobile Police Department, King joined MCPSS as its cyber safety coordinator. His job: cut out the middleman and quickly get information about online threats to the people who can act on them.
“It’s been a good year so far. We’re always looking for conflicts that happen online to try to get in front of that before it comes to schools,” King said.
King’s job isn’t just about responding to threats. He says it’s also about education and prevention.
This school year, MCPSS has launched the SpeakUp app, giving students and parents a digital way to report concerns.
“It gives students an outlet to report things of concern; mental health concerns, student threats, suspicious behavior, drugs, you name it,” King said. “It gives them an outlet to report on their phone or their school-issued laptop.”
Using the SpeakUp app is designed to be simple, and King says reports go directly to the school safety team, where they’re evaluated and handled based on the situation.
King’s message to students and parents: take threats seriously, even if they happen online or are posted as a joke.
“Online words have real world consequences, for sure,” King says. “Don’t say it, don’t joke about it. It’s also the perception of what others think. If you scare just one person by using an emoji, they may be in fear for their safety and you have committed a law in the state of Alabama. Do not do it.”
And if you see something concerning online, King says the best response is to report it, not repost it.
“Everything has a digital component these days. What I would suggest?” King asked. “Don’t assume the authorities know about it. Report it, don’t repost it. Every repost, it turns into a screenshot and more rumors appear. So, report it, don’t repost it. Always think before you post. Whatever you post today can be there for five years, ten years, 15 years. Nothing is ever truly deleted online. Just be careful, always think before you post.”
Additionally, King says the app is available for download through both the Apple and Android app stores. He says you can also access it from a regular desktop computer, giving students and parents multiple ways to report a concern.
