Round Rock ISD credits threat screening technology with saving student lives

What started as a telephone tip line, Colorado’s anonymous tip program, Safe2Tell has now become an app that is publicly funded and part of the Attorney General’s office. The program gives students a way to report potentially dangerous situations they hear about or read online. While Safe2Tell does receive some false reports, overall, it has bolstered a sense of trust and protection in schools across the state.

This year’s Poptech Conference, a 19-year-old gathering for thinkers and world-changers, celebrated hybrid thinking across industry sectors, or “when disciplinary boundaries fall by the wayside" - four of their projects are discussed.

Amazon has developed a cloud computing certificate. It is one of a growing number of technology companies partnering with community colleges and increasingly four year colleges to offer vendor-specific curriculum. But critics don't believe colleges will be able to change coursework as fast as the quickly evolving industry requires and argue that such as an approach is an imposition on academic freedom.

In Latvia, a new software-Edurio- helps educators learn from insights that go beyond grades by surveying students, families and teachers. This allows for fast feedback and alterations to improve educational experience.

The Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority's police force has transformed its culture using a police assistance referral program that focuses on getting people the help they need first rather than arresting them. It's a way to address the underlying issues that prompt an incident by partnering with social workers and nonprofits to help police to look at themselves as problem solvers. The majority of referrals for services focus on violence committed against or in front of children and this is one way to try and address trauma before it wreaks devastation on young lives.

Many mental illnesses appear during an individual's college years, yet few colleges have effective mental health programs. The Jed Foundation created a framework for universities to follow to address student's need such as peer outreach programs.

Program H is a group educational methodology that works with young men through participatory workshops, role-playing, and debates to reflect on toxic masculinities and promote more equitable attitudes toward gender. It has been implemented in more than 30 countries since 2002, successfully facilitated by males who act as gender equity role models. This story is available in Spanish here: https://solu.news/24kd

Safe2Tell is a unified statewide system where students can anonymously report concerns or threats, since research shows other students often know about a threat before it is carried out. Teams trained in risk assessment intervene before an attack can happen by contacting parents, making a welfare check, and/or talking with students. The success of the system led to the adoption of similar programs in Oregon, Nevada, and Wyoming.

Companies like Gaggle are typically used by school districts to track student online behavior, but now they are tracking something else—self-harm. Machine learning flags words that might indicate a student is thinking of hurting themselves. “It gives us insight into what the student's thinking.” Gaggle identified 64,000 student references to suicide and self-harm. The company claims to have saved 927 student lives. In Mason City, districts receive alerts when a student’s search is flagged. “Nicole Pfirman says there have been a few times where she believes an alert saved a kid's life.”

The San Antonio Independent School District developed an app to help combat the Covid-slide among its students, including English Language Learning students. The app tracks interactions, class attendance, and completed assignments, but also correspondence and in-person interactions. Administrators took the data collected on its close to 50,000 students and developed strategies to direct special attention or make contact with students with decreased engagement. Out of 48,000 students, only 142 didn't have a contact log.