WILMINGTON –A national nonprofit is partnering with a Wilmington startup to combat bullying and empower students to speak up about threats and potential campus violence.
The National Center for the Prevention of Community Violence (NCPCV) is adding ProText My School technology to its anti-violence program, Green Zone. Together, they offer the free comprehensive system of programs, training, and technology to K-12 schools nationally.
The programs are designed to enhance school safety response, improve school climate, and empower students to anonymously share information about potentially violent or threatening events on campus.
Bobby Kipper, NCPCV founder and executive director said in a statement, “ProText My School enables students, parents and staff to safely share tips and other critical information directly to school officials via a school specific number for text messaging or the web. When paired with GreenZone, ProText My School will give school officials an edge to better understand how they can help students communicate and promote a violence free campus.”
Machine-learning tools evaluate conversations
ProText My School engages users in automated conversations about what’s happening and sends real-time alerts to designated responders such as school administrators and school resource officers.
Anthony Formhals, founder, CEO and president of Voice, the company that created ProText My School said in a statement, that the technology “Uses an intelligent conversation engine to evaluate information about bullying, campus safety and other concerns. Based on information received, a dynamic conversation framework with machine learning tools collects and evaluates information.”
He added, “It then alerts school administration and/or law enforcement in real time. It gives school officials a closer look at what’s happening with students on campus, on social media, and in the community, which may directly affect campus safety.”
NCPCV will help schools establish multidisciplinary response teams called CARE teams to respond to information received and will train the teams based on national best practices for critical incident and crisis response.
NCPCV is seeking an exclusive sponsor to make this available to K-12 schools at no cost. Potential sponsors can check out a sponsorship packet..
