SAFETY OF OUR STUDENTS:

Nothing matters more than the safety and care of every student and staff member who makes up Clay County Schools. This happens when our community works together. If you have a question or concern about a student’s experience feeling unsafe or unwelcoming, please notify your child’s teacher or principal so that we can investigate promptly and address your concerns.

Read more in the Anti Bullying Policy and Harassment/Complaint policy approved by the USD 379 Board of Education. 

If you, or someone you know is thinking about suicide or self harm, use the national crisis hotline by texting or calling 988 any time, day or night.

If you hear or see something that could be a threat to the safety of our schools, please call 911.

STOPit:

Clay County Schools uses STOPit, an online and app-based system that makes it easy for students to anonymously report anything of concern to school officials,from cyber-bullying to threats of violence or self-harm.

STOPit does more than just help schools address incidents and mitigate risk. STOPit helps us help deter and prevent bullying and inappropriate behavior, not just react to it. As young people continue to engage more with technology every day, USD 379 believes the adoption of STOPit is an important step in our ongoing effort to create a positive school climate and a safe learning environment for every student in our care.

NOTE: Students should stop by their school’s office to obtain the district's access code they need to make a report using STOPit. 

ACCESS STOPit

Bark:

Bark for Schools+ helps our school and district leaders quickly identify situations when a student or others may be at risk. The USD 379 team is alerted any time specific words or phrases appear in student email messages sent through our district system. These alerts allow time-sensitive follow-up with the student and/or family to provide support and keep everyone safer. Bark is also available to parents and other caregivers to use on personal devices at home.

TeamMates:

TeamMates is youth mentoring program in USD 379. Students are matched with responsible, caring adults in the community to be a friendly support through the ups and downs that come in life. Contact Lisa Last at lisalast@usd379.org or 785-632-3176 if you would like to consider this rewarding experience to support our youth or are interested in having your child paired with a TeamMate mentor. 

CRISIS TEXT LINE:

Crisis Text Line provides anybody access to free, 24/7 support and information about anxiety, depression, gun violence, eating disorders and more.  Visit Crisis Text Line by clicking here. 

Kansas Bureau of Investigations Suspicious Activity Report (SAR):

The Safe and Secure Schools Unit with the Kansas State Department of Education in collaboration with the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, provides school districts and communities the Suspicious Activity Report (SAR). This tool is a simple and highly effective way for students, staff, parents, and community members to report suspicious activity. Reports are sent to the KBI, which then reviews, analyzes, and acts on the information accordingly. The person submitting the report is given a receipt number for tracking purposes, but the report remains anonymous if the user wishes. Learn more or make a report here: https://www.kbi.ks.gov/sar

Student Conflict/Bullying Concerns:

Please contact your child’s school immediately, any time you have a concern about your child’s experience at school or believe it involves student conflict/bullyiny.


You can also use the Bullying Prevention Hotline provided by the Kansas State Department of Education, in partnership with Kansas Children’s Service League. This free, anonymous service is available to provide counsel and resources to anyone with questions or concerns about bullying situations. The 24-hour hotline can be reached at 1-800-332-6378 (or 1-800-CHILDREN). You can also contact the hotline via text or e-mail at 1800children@kcsl.org.