‘You name it — it’s probably come across our desk’: Portage school touts effectiveness of anonymous tipline

School leaders in Portage la Prairie are recommending the wider use of anonymous tiplines to monitor safety issues and other pressing concerns among students in Manitoba.

A recent government-mandated review of safety protocols in kindergarten-to-Grade 12 schools has renewed one rural division’s support for its online reporting system.

For the better part of the last decade, Portage Collegiate Institute has been collecting incident reports using a form. QR codes for it are posted in classrooms and hallways across the multi-building campus.

“We see it here as a valuable tool to help us deal with things here at the school before they get out of hand,” said Lawrence McKenzie, principal of the Grade 9-12 building.

Teenagers are encouraged to show up to his office to flag something that’s troubling them first-hand.

But for those who are shy or hesitant to do so, for whatever reason, the form is an accessible way for them to feel heard and make meaningful change at their school, McKenzie said.

“It gives anybody a way to raise a concern without drawing attention to themselves,” he added, noting there’s often stigma associated with “ratting out” a problem.

Portage la Prairie School Division created a template on Google Forms to proactively seek out information about property damage, cyberbullying and other issues.

It was designed to be used by staff, students and parents.

Users are asked to share a basic description of an incident and where it happened. They’re expected to disclose timing, the name and grade of an alleged offender, and identify any witnesses.

Submissions — which do not require the reporter to enter an email or any other personal information — show up immediately in a principal’s inbox.

The form is available to all schools, although senior administration indicated it’s been most useful at the high school level.

Shannon Moffat, a mother of a Grade 12 student, was surprised to learn that anonymous reporting tools aren’t universal in schools across Manitoba.

“It’s an opportunity for the kids to speak their mind or to share information that they might have that they might otherwise keep to themselves,” she said.

Moffat said the tipline also support student well-being, given teenagers are empowered to use their voice in a space they frequent more than anywhere else.

The Portage high school receives about 100 disclosures during a typical school year.

McKenzie has been alerted about everything from dangerous driving in the school parking lot to inappropriate posts on social media.

“You name it — it’s probably come across our desk. Some of them are minor. Some of them are more serious,” the principal said.

While noting the school has received false reports, he said the tipline, which has become increasingly popular in recent years, has solved far more challenges than it’s caused.

It’s allowed school staff to flag trends, such as chronic safety concerns about groups of teenagers hanging out in closed-door bathrooms.

McKenzie noted that repeated reports about safety-related issues in bathrooms resulted in the board of trustees fast-tracking major renovations.

The board spent about $250,000 to gut and replace traditional male and female bathrooms inside the Prince Charles building at the school.

The new facility, which opened earlier this month, is brightly-lit with nine gender-neutral stalls that are equipped with floor-to-ceiling doors.

Its entrance allows for teacher-supervisors and other passersby to observe the communal area from the hallway.

Superintendent Pamela Garnham said her division’s reporting tool gives leaders “a second set of eyes” so they can make better and more informed decisions.

Garnham urged other administrators to get in touch with her office if they’re curious about how it works.

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca