AUSTIN (KXAN) — Students are heading back to school and safety is top of mind for administrators and parents.
Whether it’s bullying or stopping an intruder on campus, a lot of school districts are turning to technology to keep their students safe.
The Texas School for the Deaf unveiled a new app Wednesday that will send out an alert the moment a safety concern is reported.
“If a student feels comfortable reporting bullying anonymously and is not worrying about what their peers think, they may do it earlier and sooner before it becomes a real serious problem,” Texas School for the Deaf Superintendent Claire Bugen said.
If there’s a threat, communication is as important as timing which can be particularly difficult for students who are hearing impaired.
School administrators decided to partner with Anonymous Alerts to provide a state-of-the-art school safety app.
Here’s how it works
Students who download the Anonymous Alerts app will be assigned an anonymous user-ID.
When they report a safety concern on campus, that message will immediately be delivered to school administrators.
The app will then focus on key words like gun or shooting to highlight certain threats.
While the safety incident reports will be completely anonymous, school officials will notify parents if their student is named in a report.
“It just is able to give every student a voice to be heard, especially if they’re going through something. Whether you’re at this school or at any other district. It’s getting the word out there that you need some help,” Christine Paris from Anonymous Alerts said.
The app developer says it’s already prevented three school shootings, including one last year in east Texas.