Partner Spotlight: report it®
ReportIt is an anonymous, confidential reporting app that allows anyone to quickly and easily share concerns and feel confident the right people will receive their report. Safe and Sound Schools and ReportIt are working together to raise awareness about the importance of anonymous reporting for school safety, specifically its role in early detection for intervention and prevention. ReportIt is funding the development of a new program, coming soon from Safe and Sound Schools, on this topic.
ReportIt’s director and founder, Anthony Lavalle, has always been a civic-minded person, active in his local community. While he originally started ReportIt as a way for community members to report local issues, such as potholes or signage, he quickly adapted his technology to be able to help schools after witnessing the Columbine tragedy. Anthony recognized that students are often aware of potential acts of violence or threats but are unwilling to communicate due to fear of retaliation. His vision for helping schools prevent violence and improve safety was to provide a tool that was conducive to the youth culture (web based), and has been working for nearly 20 years to bring ReportIt to schools around the country.
“Our goal is to foster communication, and through that, we can prevent violence,” said Anthony. “If something isn’t right, then people need so speak up and feel comfortable doing so. If they are uncomfortable speaking in person, they can know that ReportIt will route their concern to the right person, whether the school staff, mental health specialist, or administrator.”
After hearing Michele Gay, Safe and Sound Schools co-founder and executive director, speak at a Campus Safety event, Anthony was moved by her passion and experiences. He identified with Michele’s sense of purpose and determination, and knew he wanted to support Safe and Sound Schools.
“We start our day here at ReportIt with the premise of ‘who can we help today?’ and through Safe and Sound Schools, we have the power to help even more people,” said Anthony. “With Safe and Sound School’s trusted reputation and comprehensive community-focused approach, they can share the importance of anonymous reporting with teachers, staff, parents, students, administrators, and public safety officials.”
ReportIt’s focus on early detection for intervention and prevention aligns well with Safe and Sound School’s goal of school crisis prevention, response and recovery. The ReportIt platform is accessible from the web or app, is discrete, allows for the full spectrum of reporting concerns, and automatically routes reports to the right people. Since Safe and Sound speaks to a national network of students, teachers, and school-based communities, it was important to align with a reporting platform meets the needs of students regardless of their location. Anonymous tips to ReportIt are automatically routed to the appropriate agency in the city/state where the user is using the app. This saves time and ensures report receipt quick and efficient attention by the proper agency in the nearest jurisdiction.
“Anonymity is critical in the school environment because students – who are often the first line of intelligence – may know of a potential risk, but don’t report it out of fear of retaliation,” said Michele Gay, executive director and co-founder of Safe and Sound Schools. “This is why when ReportIt says tips are ‘anonymous,’ it means ANONYMOUS. This means students and community members who use ReportIt can be confident their information is not even in the app, which removes a burden from students and opens the a direct channel of communication.”
Preventing a safety threat from coming to fruition, saves lives, and according to Anthony, is the best way to help people. Safe and Sound Schools is grateful for the support of ReportIt and will share more on its upcoming program as soon as we can.
