Schools encourage use of OK2SAY program
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ALPENA -- Since the Oxford High School shooting in November, police and school officials have been on high alert amid hundreds of school closures caused by threats - including recent incidents in Northeast Michigan school districts.
According to Lee Fitzpatrick, director of communications for Alpena Public Schools, the district has received tips from the OK2SAY program, a confidential reporting system where students can anonymously report criminal or harm activities.
"We think it is a very valuable tool and we encourage it," Fitzpatrick said. "Any way that we can get people to let us know what's going on is a good thing."
The system encourages tip sharing among students, parents, teachers, or residents. Tips received by OK2SAY technicians are analyzed and then forwarded to law enforcement officials, schools or other community agencies.
Officials investigate and respond to threats to resolve the issues and report the results back to OK2SAY. This system operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
According to state data in December, OK2SAY received 3,567 tips last month and a total of 32,947 tips since the start of the program in September 2014.
The State of Michigan reports more than 1,600 of the tips received in December involved planned school attacks.
This is up from December 2020 when there was only one tip about planned school attacks and just 52 reported for the entire year, according to state data.
Also in December 2021, there were 304 tips involving guns, 275 involving stress and depression, 136 involving suicide threats, and 126 involving bullying, among many other categories, according to state data.
Christie Thomas, middle and high school principal for Alcona Community Schools, said Tuesday the district is using the program.
"We advertise it, we encourage our kids to use it," Thomas said. "I think it's a great program and I'm glad that we have it."
She said that she has sent out emails and made Facebook posts promoting the program, but they have not had any reports from it yet.
In addition to using the OK2SAY program, students have gone directly to administration officials to report tips. On Friday, an Alpena High School student was removed from a classroom on Friday after school administrators learned the student had allegedly made a Tik Tok video referencing the use of explosives.
The school did not clarify whether the video expressed a threat against the school or individuals.
Fitzpatrick said the tip was reported directly to APS administration.
In the aftermath of the Oxford shooting, several Northeast Michigan districts have dealt with incidents involving threats and threatening language.
In December, threats involving guns caused administrators to close the high school and Thunder Bay Junior High School for two days for a police investigation.
No students have been charged related to those threats.
High School students in Hillman also missed instruction hours after a threat was allegedly found written on a school wall in December.
Also last month, many Rogers City High School parents kept their children home the day after a supposed threat.
Students can report tips at 855-565-2729, OK2SAY.com, by texting 652729 (OK2SAY), or via the OK2SAY app on mobile devices.