By Jonann Brady
Baldwin is one of just a few New York State school districts to test drive a relatively new web site called Report-it.com. The national web site was created in 1999 after the shootings at Columbine High School in order to give students and parents a chance to confidentially report potential school violence or other problems.
The Baldwin School District debuted the system last year after Superintendent Dr. Kathy Weiss heard about the site from another superintendent, said Michael Roccoforte, director of Curriculum, Technology and Instructional Support Services.
"It's a safe way of reporting things without being a 'tattle-tale'," said Roccoforte. "We learned from Columbine that kids are the best barometer of what's going on in a building."
Report-it.com can be accessed through the Baldwin School District web site, www.baldwin.k12.ny.us. Once in the site, anyone can click on "members" and enter "bruins" in each of the fields to access resources and the report page.
The site gives a list of district-specific resources and phone numbers so students can make a direct contact with staff or other support services if they choose. To make an anonymous report, a student can click on "make a report." Their message will then be forwarded to school administrators, including the principal, and in the high school, all assistant principals and deans.
Any Baldwin student or parent can use the system. Last year, 15 total reports were made -- 13 in the high school, two in the middle school and none in the elementary school. Two reports have been made in the high school this year, according to Principal Susan Knors.
Of the 13 reports made in the high school last year, six warranted a further investigation, said Roccoforte.
The reports have ranged from potential fights brewing and drug dealing to reports of students forging teachers' signatures on passes, said Knors.
Students and staff stress that Baldwin is not a particularly violent place, but say the site is useful is diverting smaller problems that could grow into more serious ones.
In one case, a student reported that a friend seemed depressed, and a school psychologist confidentially spoke to the student. In another instance, a parent reported that some students were planning a party at a home when the parents would be away. Knors said that after receiving that report, she called those parents, who canceled their trip.
When deciding to subscribe to the system, the district considered the possibility of the site being misused by students, who might issue prank reports, such as false bomb threats to get out of school. Roccoforte and Knors said that, generally, that has not been the case.
"The kids are taking it more seriously, in an adult way," said Knors.
Administrators say that the benefits have so far outweighed any problems with the site.
"I don't think it could be bad to give kids another avenue, especially when some kids wouldn't be caught dead walking into an administrator's office," said Knors.
To publicize the site, the district sent letters home to every student's home last year, and publicized it with posters and announcements.
But in interviews with several students outside the high school, many said they were not aware of the site. Others questioned its usefulness and said violence is not a problem at the school.
"Nobody uses it," said senior Jenna Williams. "I wouldn't use it. But there's not much bullying."
Another senior, Junior Almonor, said, "I noticed it a year ago. Nobody uses it. If you report it the school can't do much. I know someone who did use it and it didn't solve any problems. But there is not too much bullying."
Roccoforte acknowledged that the district itself is still evaluating the usefulness of the site, but said that any new program takes time to catch on.
"If it's not being used, it might be eliminated," he said.
The district pays the Report-it.com company, which is based in Happauge, just over $2,000 a year to subscribe to the service, which includes monitoring reports 24 hours a day and updating web pages for each school.
But for the district, the Report-it.com web site is just another way, along with Character Education, Peer Mediation and other programs, to not only discourage violence, but to encourage tolerance and acceptance, said Roccoforte.
"It's not violence that brought us to this," he said. "We live in violent times. Parents want to know they're sending kids to a safe environment. This is one piece of that."
