Like many districts nationwide, Monroe Public Schools is not immune to bullying. The district's Bullying Prevention initiatives center around open communication with students, and as incidents were reported, administrators were using multiple databases to document and subsequently investigate each tip. Administrators also had to keep records of their response to each incident and provide a year-end report to the state to comply with Washington House Bill 2801. Monroe leaders knew they needed to find a more efficient, centralized, and cost-effective way to organize, document, and retain data related to HIB incidents. But most importantly, administrators wanted a better system to safeguard their students.
In 2011, the district purchased The Vector Alert Tip Reporting System (formerly SafeSchools Alert) to help better manage HIB incidents. The district's custom online Alert system allows staff, students and parents to confidentially report safety incidents, including harassment, intimidation and bullying to Monroe administrators 24/7/365, via phone, text, email, and website. As tips come in, appropriate staff members are immediately notified and can respond right away. And, administrators can use the system to confidentially share information, have virtual discussions about an incident, and document every step of their investigation.
Compliance Officer and Vector Alert Champion, Joanne Dickinson, uses Monroe's Alert system to track incidents, examine HIB data for trends, and log the actions the district took to respond to those incidents in one centralized location.
Vector Alert also includes an HIB Incident Reporting form, based on House Bill 2801, which makes it easier for the district to document the state's required information for each incident and comply with this important legislation.
Compliance Officer and Vector Alert Champion, Joanne Dickinson, uses Monroe's Alert system to track incidents, examine HIB data for trends, and log the actions the district took to respond to those incidents in one centralized location. Close to 300 tickets have been created and resolved using their Vector Alert system to date! Joanne has even added custom ticket fields in their Alert system to meet the district's specific needs. Not only that, she also creates detailed custom reports to present at district meetings to show Monroe's progress and statistics using Vector Alert.
Using Vector Alert, the district now has:
Since implementing Vector Alert, Monroe has seen better documentation on reportable incidents, more consistency in reportable incidents between buildings and countless hours saved creating and maintaining databases.
We applaud Joanne and everyone at Monroe Public Schools for their success with Vector Alert, but more importantly, that they're taking a stand against bullying, harassment, and intimidation. Way to go, Monroe! Keep up the great work!
HIB Compliance Officer
Monroe Public Schools, WA
