Oct 26, 2016 2 min read

Charleroi School District is implementing an anonymous helpline where potentially harmful incidents for students can be reported.

Superintendent Edward Zelich said at Tuesday’s school board meeting the hotline idea grew out of the state-mandated suicide prevention policy and the Pennsylvania Annual Yearly Survey.

The PAYS survey is conducted in grades 6, 10 and 12. Questions are on topics such as drugs, alcohol and depression issues, including thoughts of suicide and self-harm. More than 60 percent of students answered they thought about issues relating to depression, suicide and self-harm.

“We want to be proactive. By having an anonymous helpline, we will be helping kids,” Zelich explained.

Zelich said the helpline will allow parents, students and even neighbors to call anonymously and report an incident that may be causing harm to a student, such as bullying or illegal activity.

“The bottom line is the safety and well-being of our students,” he said.

The anonymous helpline will be fashioned after the Safe School Helpline at Hempfield School District in Westmoreland County. The helpline will be in place 24/7 and all calls will be private, confidential and anonymous. If a call is made, the superintendent or principals will be notified and action will be taken to resolve the issue. The hotline is expected to be implemented within a few weeks.

In other news, Zelich said Charleroi School District is continuing to make improvements in the Pennsylvania School Performance test scores. The middle school scored third among surrounding districts, with Peters Township coming in first and Canon-McMillan second. The district high school scores came in second behind Canon-McMillan.

“I am so proud of what we are accomplishing in our district,” said Zelich. He added the scores prove a lower economic status doesn’t mean low test scores.

“We have about 60 percent of lower economic households in our district and we are in the top two and three districts in our area,” he said.