District responds to 57 tips

Milton Area School District has received 57 tips via Safe2Say since the system launched in January, according to Director of Special Education Ms. Catherine Girton.

According to the Safe2Say annual report issued by Attorney General Josh Shapiro, there were 616 total tips this year in Intermediate Unit 16, which includes Milton and 28 other school districts. In the entire state, 23,494 tips were submitted to the tip line. This total only included tips from valid situations. The top three categories for tips were Bullying/Cyber Bullying, Cutting/Self Harm and Suicide/Suicidal Ideation.

Ms. Girton said Milton’s most common tip category at Milton was “inappropriate behaviors/threats/harassment/violence,” with 25 tips. She added that 14 tips were in the “mental health” category, 10 in the “bullying/cyber bullying” category, five in the “drugs/alcohol” category and three in the “other” category.

Each of these tips was acted upon by administration in a “process [that] has saved lives,” Ms. Girton said. She added that she could not reveal specific information about the tips. According to School Resource Officer Mr. Dennis Derr, he receives all tips and decides how to respond. Ms. Girton added that the principals and other administrators also receive tips.

Ms. Girton provided an example of how the system is commonly used. In the event that a student wants to harm themselves, “the principal will determine the location of the student and either meet with the student or have the student [tipster] meet with the student to assess the situation. The parent and a community mental health professional will be called if there is a need for an evaluation at a hospital.  The police are called to conduct a wellness check if the tip is received on a student not in the school building,” Ms. Girton said.

Ms. Girton said only one tip has not required action due to being a false report, which was handled by the Attorney General’s office. Ms. Girton said she does not know how the Attorney General handles false reports, as false tips are not sent to the school.

According to Ms. Girton, Safe2Say has released new student trainings for the 2019-2020 school year. She said this training will be online and will “help students identify signs or situations that should be reported to an adult or through the anonymous tip system.” Milton has registered and will be retraining students who were trained last year, she added. Training will also be provided to all new students in grades 6-12 who have not received previous training, she said.

According to Ms. Girton and Officer Derr, they consider Safe2Say to be a success at Milton. “Our students are doing really well and have provided good information for investigations,” Officer Derr said.