Burnet schools implementing Talk About It system for students to turn in anonymous tips about at-risk classmates
BURNET — A new technology system soon will be in place that allows Burnet students to anonymously post concerns about school or raise warning flags about at-risk classmates, officials said.
Talk About It is an initiative that allows students to email, text or call in a suggestion or a worry without revealing their identity, Burnet Consolidated Independent School District Superintendent Keith McBurnett said during a community forum Oct. 9. "Students having a voice is such an important thing," he said. "It allows them to have that."
The inspiration came from a mother whose son committed suicide, McBurnett said.
She told McBurnett that many of her son’s friends knew he was struggling but kept silent. If there had been a system that allowed anonymous tips, perhaps someone could have helped her son, he said.
"It’s a cry for help for themselves or someone else," he said.
Each campus will have one staffer designated to process the messages, McBurnett said. Training began Oct. 10.
"It’s a way to connect with a trusted adult," he said. "They’re getting a chance to send it to a specially trained person."
The Leander Independent School District started the program this year, while several Dallas-area school districts have had theirs for some time, said Shelley Reavis, coordinator of elementary curriculum.
Posters will be created and letters will be given to students for parents, she said. The goal is to have the system running by the end of the month.
"We hope they use it for all kinds of things," Reavis said. "If they have questions, we hope for suggestions."
In other news, the School Board during the meeting Oct. 15, which starts at 6 p.m. at Bertram Elementary School, 315 Main St. in Bertram, will give McBurnett an evaluation.
He has been with BCISD for six months. The board plans to evaluate the superintendent each quarter, officials said.