Dear Putnam Valley Community:
Putnam Valley CSD had determined that it is important to introduce a new communications tool called Anonymous Alerts®. Anonymous Alerts® allows students or parents to quickly, easily, and anonymously report urgent information to school officials across all of our school campuses. The system encourages students, parents and staff to confidentially report bullying, cyber-bullying, and other sensitive topics through private messages to our administration. Putnam Valley CSD does not support, encourage or tolerate any behavior that prevents any student from reaching their full potential.
We also believe that the best way to address problems that our students face in school is personal contact with a teacher, school administrator, psychologist or counselor and we strongly encourage and fully support that continued practice. However, we do know that sometimes there is a concern that a student or parent may want to communicate anonymously.
How do I place an incident report from Internet connected computers/tablets?
1) Go to https://www.anonymousalerts.com/putnamvcsd/ from any Internet connected device
2) Click on the web button called “Anonymous Alerts”. Fill out your incident report.
How do I place a report from an iPhone or Android phone?
1) From the iPhone Store, download the free app by searching for “Anonymous Alerts”. If you have an Android phone, go to the Play Store, search for “Anonymous Alerts” and download.
2) After downloading the app, click on it, enter setup/login putnamvcsd and enter putnamvcsd as your Password.
You will also find an Anonymous Alerts icon on our district webpage.
The mobile apps and Web-based reporting system provides secure 1-way or 2-way encrypted messages, increasing the flow of important information to school officials. Message topics for submission may include bullying, cyber-bullying, family difficulties, self-harm/cutting, drug and alcohol abuse, student depression, sexual harassment, gang related issues or strange/abnormal student behavior.
All reports remain completely anonymous, although submitters have the option to reveal their identity if they prefer to have a person-to-person discussion. The program is monitored from 7:00 AM until 5:00 PM, and should only be used for serious and urgent matters. Indeed, if something disturbing or life threatening occurs at other times, it is imperative to call 911.
We feel that we have a responsibility to offer this tool to our community in order to protect the safety of our students, providing avenues for confidential disclosure when there is something serious that is troubling them. At Putnam Valley CSD, our goal is to enhance the student’s learning experience and limit any roadblocks to a student’s success, giving everyone the opportunity to succeed.
Representatives from Anonymous Alerts will be presenting this reporting system to our middle school and high school students on January 3 during grade level community meetings.
Sincerely,
Dr. Frances Wills
Superintendent of Schools
Mobile app student training video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pZr5gQ7cuM