Dear Parents/Guardians:

As a school system, we are committed to creating and sustaining a comprehensive, coordinated effort to improve the overall safety and well-being of our students, educators, and administrators. 

To do this, we believe this must involve community-wide programs and initiatives involving parents, teachers, administrators, local law enforcement, mental health & wellness professionals, and elected officials to take meaningful action to protect our students. 

Caswell County Schools is happy to announce the launch of the “Say Something Anonymous Reporting System” (SS-ARS). This program, which fulfills the mandate requirement under 115C-105.51 of NC Law, teaches students, teachers, and administrators how to recognize warning signs and signals, especially within social media, of individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and Say Something to a trusted adult or use its anonymous reporting system. Specifically, the program educates participants to:

• Recognize the signs and signals of at-risk behaviors – especially within social media
• Take every sign and signal seriously; act quickly to get help by talking to a trusted adult OR
• Report it anonymously through SS-ARS 24/7 Crisis Center, mobile app, or website 
• Respond to and manage the submitted tip via multi-disciplinary educator and administrator teams
• Sustain the curriculum and awareness via student clubs, in-school activities and call-to-action weeks

Our students often are aware of the problems their peers are facing, so we must empower them to know the danger signs and give them the tools to help each other with the assistance of trained and caring adults. As you know, most conversations are taking place on social media, therefore it is critical that we teach our students to be looking out for one another as these digital conversations are taking place. SS-ARS teaches them what to look for in text, video, and photos while empowering them to act quickly to help a fellow student. Students in grades 6 – 12 received training on the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System during the first two weeks of October 2021. 

Information and resources have been posted to the district and school websites under Say Something Anonymous Reporting System including a parent brochure. Please take a moment to visit our websites, or you can directly visit the Sandy Hook Promise website at sandyhookpromise.org.

If you have any questions, please contact me at 336-694-4116 or at jennifer.obriant@caswell.k12.nc.us.