Funded by the Sandy Hook Promise and The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General and released in 2019, the Safe2Say Something platform is a widely available method for students to report concerning information revolving around youth violence in a way that allows for their personal information to be kept safe from prying ears.

But what is Safe2Say Something? And how does it relate to us at Hill?

Safe2Say was created as a platform for students to anonymously send tips to state officials and important faculty from their own school about concerning behavior or suspicious activity happening at their school, whether it be from faculty or from a fellow student.

These warning signs would often be a sign of suicidal tendencies, or hints of a possible school shooting — events that Safe2Say aims to prevent.

Many students hold a positive viewpoint on the Safe2Say Something program, often commenting that it is a good thing to have in case some students don’t feel comfortable and need a quickly accessible place to express their concerns. Some students also praise Safe2Say for providing an extra layer of security to the school.

Bella Luo ‘27 says, “I think that’s really cool. It’s gonna be useful and safe for the students. ”

Trish Haas, Head of security, hopes that the addition of Safe2Say Something encourages students to feel comfortable enough to report these concerning signs or warnings to Hill Security and faculty as well.

“Safe2Say Something is a helpful outlet to let someone know that there is or might be a problem and then they can work with the school and local authorities if necessary to address it,” Haas stated in an email. “We want to help students with anything they need and of course encourage anyone to come forward to Hill Security or any employee for assistance.”

By reporting student concerns to the Hill School first before sending in a report, it could help the faculty and Hill Security to deal with a possible threat much faster before any unwanted events happen.

Some students, however, expressed some concerns about Safe2Say .

“It’s safe, but sometimes there might be a lot of unnecessary reports, like if I see another student in a black hoodie. I might report it if I didn’t know them because it’s kind of creepy.” She said, expressing concern about false reports or unnecessary tips.

Though there have been instances of false reporting, like those in Bucks Count, they only make up a total of 4% of the overall reports. With the officials on the other side of the screen being trained professionals that have experience in differentiating between false and truthful reports, most of the untruthful reports are usually filtered out.

Ultimately, the hope of the Hill School as a whole is summarized by Ari Baum, Dean of Students, who hopes for the students to feel a sense of security at the school.

“My top priority is that anybody at this school who has something concerning that they’ve experienced, that they’ve witnessed, that they’ve suspected, anything concerning at all, that they know where to report that and that they can do that reporting in an easy enough way.” Mr. Baum, Dean of Students, stated.