School district first to provide anonymous reporting system
By Mary Shane Contributing Writer

Westborough - Westborough is very safety-minded and way ahead of other communities when it comes to protecting its schools and children, according to Officer Charles "Chip" Dapolite, school liaison officer for Westborough public schools.

Independently, both Dapolite and Dr. Nancy Spitulnik, district director of student services, discovered School- Span's Safe School Grant and its Anonymous Alert System during the summer of 2007.

Dapolite read about the SchoolSpan Safe School grant in eSchool News, a magazine for educators and school resource officers. Spitulnik discovered the grant while looking in a grant database to find grants that might be helpful to the school system. They both thought it was a great way to increase school security.

The Anonymous Alert System is a free, confidential Web-based tip line where anyone in the school community can send e-mail concerning student safety to school officials. It can be accessed from the main page of the Westborough School District Web site at westborough. ma.schoolwebpages. com.

Dapolite brought the grant information to Police Chief Gordon for approval and then to Spitulnik and Dr. Anne Towle, district superintendent. They all thought the free, five-year grant was a good idea. Dapolite also met with John Smith, principal of Westborough High School, and Dr. David Fredette, principal of Gibbons Middle School.

"Their input was extremely important," Dapolite said. "They let their assistant principals know about the program, then the teachers and students."

Dapolite and Spitulnik worked together on how to publicize the program, who should be targeted, and which schools and which grades should be involved. Information about the alert system was included in a newsletter sent home to parents of Mill Pond sixthgraders, Gibbons School students and High School students.

"It's another tool in our bag to protect our children. It's support from the top down, " Dapolite said. "Westborough is the only one [in Massachusetts] that applied for the grant. We're lucky we have Dr. Spitulnik out there. [Being proactive] is what makes it a good school district."

Spitulnik said the system hasn't been used yet, but the district still checks it regularly.

"There are two [people] that check it. People check it before school, during regular school hours and at night," she said. "One of the things we want to emphasize is confidentiality. The only [people] seeing it are those who are checking it; we handle the reporting system

information confidentially."

Appropriate action will be taken based on the nature of the report, Spitulnik said. The form instantly goes to the school principal or district administrator.

"The police only get involved if the situation needs police action," Dapolite said.

Spitulnik said the alert system is a new tool in the district's safety plans.

"We want to emphasize it's one more piece to help students keep the school safe," she said. "This is just one more way of letting us know. It's nothing new or diff erent, just a diff erent way. The first thing we advise people to do is to call the police or the school."

The system is not for emergencies, Dapolite added.

"[The alert system] does not replace emergency - 911," he said. "911 is always the best to get in touch with us. Safety - that's what it comes down to."