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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah students have quicker, more convenient to share safety concerns with school administrators. Thanks to the Safe To Talk Foundation, students can send an anonymous text message to alert officials about cheating, drug use or anything else that's making them feel unsafe.
Safe To Talk, which is currently in operation at about 1,000 schools across the country, is an organization run by donations. The idea behind it, director Kevin Santiago said, is to give kids an easy way to talk.
"If we can get the kids to feel like they're safe to have that initial talk, the counselors can then walk them through all the difficulty of ‘should I talk about this?'" Santiago said.
To use the program, a student types in his or her district's quick code number in the "send to" box. Then the student uses a password of the "@" symbol and types in school's name before writing their message and hitting "send."
Submit a tip via text message:
- Send to 27299
- Start tip with "@keyword" then add a space before typing in your message
- Save the number to your phone for future use
Submit a tip online:
- Go to www.SchoolTipline.com
- Click the yellow "Find My School" button in the upper right-hand corner
- Type in your schools name and click submit, then follow the site's promptings
Source: Salt Lake City School District
The text messages go to the tip line office, and are then sent to the student's school counselor and administration. The phone number they came from is blocked.
Santiago said Safe To Talk is in more than 100 Utah schools, including all of those in the Salt Lake City School District.
"Teenagers today, that's how they communicate: they text," said Jason Olsen, spokesman for the Salt Lake City School District.
Not every child has access to a cellphone or feels comfortable sending a text message. For those kids, there's another option: a website where they can submit a tip.
At www.SafetyTipline.com, students can enter their school's name, sign up for an account, and then email a tip. They can even track any action taken after their tip was submitted.
Santiago said his office makes sure the students get the help they need. "It's amazing what happens when you have the two-way communication, he said.
Each school involved in the program has its own number and keyword, which again is the "@" symbol and the name of their school. The quick code number for Salt Lake City schools is 27299.
Posters and emails went out Monday, explaining the program to parents and students about the new program.
