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Students with problems can ‘talk about it’ online |
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Thursday, 31 July 2008 |
Local students needing help with problems, whether large or small, can now tell an adult what’s on their minds anonymously.
The West Point School District trained staff and students alike Wednesday on Talk About It — a new service for the 2008-2009 school year. Talk About It, developed by a company called Ancomm, is a Web-based messaging system that protects a child’s identity.
“It’s a very unique service,” said Chris Pinkston, an Ancomm representative in town Wednesday to lead the training. “It’s taken something (students) use every day and allowed them to talk to their teachers in a way they feel comfortable with.”
Students can use the service to report a variety of problems to a trusted faculty member — from bullying and trouble at home to urgent matters like weapons on campus and suicide threats. The system is designed for students in grades 4 through 12, and messages are sent anonymously unless senders choose to reveal their identity.
“A lot of students, they want to tell the adults in school what’s going on but they don’t want to feel like they’re telling,” said West Point School District Superintendent Steve Montgomery. “This is another tool to keep our schools safe and orderly.”
According to Pinkston, Talk About It is used in approximately 180 schools in 18 states. Last year alone, more than 25,000 messages were sent through the system.
“We have seen a whole array of things,” Pinkston said, listing stress, bullying, depression, family issues and fighting among the most common problems students report.
A morning training session included a group of about 20 principals, assistant principals, counselors and others. In the afternoon, roughly a dozen students were trained and will in turn teach their classmates how to use the system. Additionally, Pinkston said his company would provide posters, flyers and other materials that help spread the word.
“The success of this program relies on faculty buying into it and promoting it,” he said.
Alvin Taylor, principal of Fifth Street Junior High School, saw the program’s potential benefits.
“I think this is an excellent tool to improve communication between students and schools,” Taylor said. “The fact that it’s anonymous will allow students to be more open.”
Kelsey Redus, 12, said if she would hesitate to use the system “if it was very important.” However, she added, “Some people will probably use it because they know it’s anonymous.”
William Tiffin, 16, said, “I wish we’d had this program sooner.”
“All in all,” he added, “it could help a lot of people and a lot of students with the problems they go through every day.”
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Last Updated ( Friday, 01 August 2008 )
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