A new reporting system at Eastlake Elementary School allows students, parents and staff to anonymously report incidents such as bullying, safety concerns and even provide positive feedback.
Eastlake Elementary is one of five schools in America piloting San Diego-based Take Action Reporting — an anonymous online reporting system for schools, businesses and individuals to help bridge the communication gap between the school and the community.
“Part of the reason we took on the pilot was to enhance school and community communications,” said principal Eric Banatao.
To report an incident or share some good news, log on to the school’s website, click on the Take Action Reporting link on the home page, fill out the reporting form, agree to terms and conditions and click submit.
To maintain anonymity a person leaves the name portion on the form blank.
Once a report is submitted, it is immediately sent in an e-mail to the principal, the school psychologist or an administrator.
The school then investigates the complaint, talks to the parties involved and tries to reach a resolution.
Banatao said he tries to deal with all complaints immediately, based on the severity of the claim.
As of Dec. 2, Banatao said a total of five anonymous reports have been submitted using the system. Three of them were to report a conflict while two reports shared commendations.
The program, launched in October, was founded by former Eastlake principal Doug Ricketts.
Ricketts was principal for nearly three years and gave up his post in 2011 to dedicate his time to develop Take Action Reporting.
He said as a principal he saw there was a need for a more efficient reporting system.
“[As principal] I used to get e-mails anonymously with issues about bullying and student behavior, so I saw a need for this system,” he said.
Ricketts, an anti-bullying consultant, said to ensure confidentiality his company does not look at daily reports, but he said data is saved every time a report is filed, to collect statistical information.
