Pubdate: Fri, 02 Dec 2005 Source: Peace Arch News (CN BC) Copyright: 2005 Peace Arch News Contact: http://www.peacearchnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1333 Author: Sheila Reynolds Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) TEENS EMBRACING SITE TO MAKE SCHOOLS SAFER A website intended to help make Surrey schools safer has resulted in dozens of tips from teens and kids - most of whom have become fast fans of the anonymous online resource. "This site rocks," wrote one student. "What I mean is it shows reality ... what's going on with Surrey and with other schools. I really like the way you made me feel that I have some place to go if something's not going right at school and I'm not comfortable talking to the principal. "I know now I will make more right choices." Another youth comments: "Bullying has to stop - it's destroying people's lives. I think this website's really going to help," while a Grade 12 student says it's "really cool that you're showing other kids and other students that people actually care about how us teens feel." The feedback comes just six months after the PSST... Protecting Surrey Schools Together website (www.psst-bc.ca) - developed in partnership with the district and RCMP - was piloted. In addition to movie reviews, articles, contests, and quizzes, the site contains a link labelled 'Report It' where students can leave details about a problem or incident, the school involved, and when it happened or is expected to occur. During the pilot from April to June, 48 tips were submitted via the website, 46 of them legitimate. Stats from September and October are skewed because of the illegal teachers' strike and because the site was initially billed as a three-month pilot. Still, in those months, at least a dozen tips were received. Those that fall under the criminal code (ie. involving drugs, vandalism) are passed to police, while others are dealt with at the school level by the principal. A handful of the tips, safe school manager Theresa Campbell said, have led to convictions. In fact, the first one led to three men who had a significant quantity of drugs at a location near a school. "I was amazed how quickly students started using the site, especially in reporting dangerous or illegal activity," Campbell said. The site has become a venue for students to seek support for themselves. "Some have been asking for information about sensitive topics," Campbell said, "and we're able to get the appropriate professional to help them out." Mostly, she said the online resource has encouraged students to get involved and be accountable for the safety of their school. To promote the website, trailers about PSST... will be shown in Surrey movie theatres and ads will be posted at bus shelters. - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman