SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — Students, staff and families in Cochise County will soon have a new way to report safety concerns at school through an anonymous tip line launching Monday.
The Cochise County Superintendent of Schools Office is launching the Save Voice Cochise tip line, which connects users with licensed counselors outside the county. A website and app will be available to make access easier.
Cynthia Meyers, outreach manager for the Cochise County Superintendent of Schools Office, said the tip line was created to address a gap in how students could raise concerns.
"There was not a way to actually give the students a voice to talk about the issues that were causing the bullying and the fighting and the violence in the schools."
The superintendent's office sought grant money to purchase the technology for the anonymous tip line. Stacy Snitzler, Stop Grant coordinator for the Cochise County Superintendent of Schools Office, said anonymity was a key priority, especially in a small community.
"In a small community as we are, I think that was a big piece for us, was making sure that whoever's using it understands it's not coming to us, it's not coming to the superintendent's office, it's not going directly to their school."
Meyers said students have expressed feeling unsafe at school, and officials hope the tip line will change that.
"If you do actually ask the students directly, they will say that they don't want to come to school because they don't feel safe. So we're hoping by putting in the anonymous tip reporting tool and giving them a voice, they will feel safer coming to school, because the schools will now become aware of things that they need to address."
Snitzler said the goal is to intervene early and connect students with resources before situations escalate.
"It's just making sure that people understand that's the goal is to catch these things early so that we guide students off that pathway of violence and give them the resources that they need early."
Safe Voice Cochise phone number 844-572-9669. Click here for the website.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
