TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – If you see something, say something.
That’s what hundreds of students are encouraged to do to help keep themselves and their fellow students safe.
At Marana Unified School District, that method of speaking up is through a tip line called ‘Speak Up.”
The anonymous text and call line was created for students or staff to report any information they might have about dangerous or suspicious activity that could harm people on or around the campus.
And it’s been effective.
According to MUSD officials, since school began on August 4th, there have been 12 reports sent into “Speak Up.”
The tip line covers a wide variety of concerns from bullying to drugs to school violence. Pima County Sheriff’s Deputy and School Resource Officer Justin Barnett explains what happens after a worrying tip is submitted.
“School threats, if there’s a gun or threats of a shooter, they’ll immediately loop me in and whatever that hint or tip is…I’ll get involved from there.”
But there’s a strategy to this, balancing the best way to avoid gossip while keeping the school community safe.
“Something we do to keep things safe is, I have constant contact with the security team, and if we’re gonna pull a student out because there’s a tip that he has a firearm on him or something…”
“I will sit down with the security team as we pull him out. I don’t go into the room – I don’t want to alarm anybody, and we try to keep a low profile”, says Barnett.
And that same discretion applies to the monitoring of any school systems through student safety software, such as Gaggle.
Marana Unified School District’s Director of PR & Community Engagement, Alli Benjamin, sent a statement to 13 News saying,
“If Gaggle determines that the speak up message is a major safety concern requiring immediate attention, we also get a text message and phone call until somebody takes the lead on addressing the issue. If they don’t get a hold of anyone, the reps at Gaggle contact local law enforcement.”
If you would like to send a tip or to make sure your student is knowledgeable about this resource, the “Speak Up” safety tip line for MUSD is (520) 518-4181.
Please contact your child’s school to see if they have their own anonymous tip service.
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