District launches hotline to report bullying

WENTZVILLE, Mo. — Wentzville R-IV School District, in partnership with SchoolReach, a school notification system, has implemented a CyberBully Hotline.

The program provides an anonymous, two-way means for students, parents, guardians and others to report incidents of bullying, harassment or intimidation. The hotline also provides a way for individuals to share information about potentially harmful or violent acts by others.

A designated school official is the only person who receives the hotline messages. No names or other information are associated with the received messages. The CyberBully Hotline gives the district the ability to have anonymous conversations, so students are more likely to provide information and get assistance, officials said.

The CyberBully Hotline can also receive text and voicemail messages. The service is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

In order for the district to be able to reply to a voice or text message, the call must be from a cellular phone, and the reply will be in the form of a text message.

If a hotline user is providing a tip on violent or harmful acts that are being planned by others, the district requests that they provide as much specific information as possible immediately to ensure the safety of all students and faculty. Anyone who would like to leave a call-back number or their identity is encouraged to do so.

The district and the CyberBully Hotline have also partnered on a program to help prevent bullying on district school buses with a separate hotline number just for use on district buses. Hotline stickers with the number clearly printed on them have been installed in each of the district’s 141 school buses.

For more information on CyberBully Hotline, click here.