NC State Superintendent Mark Johnson announced that the state education agency has contracted with Sandy Hook Promise (SHP) to provide a statewide Say Something Anonymous Reporting System in the 2019-20 school year.

The Say Something program, including an anonymous mobile tip app, is a school safety program designed to change and save lives by teaching students, educators, and administrators how to recognize the signs and signals of those who may be at risk of hurting themselves or others and to anonymously report this information through the mobile tip app, the website or the telephone crisis hotline.

“Students play a critical role in helping to keep schools safe,” Johnson said. “They may see and hear concerns that adults need to know about but may be reluctant to report it. With the Say Something program, middle and high school students will better understand what warning signs to look for and when and how to report important tips through an app. Making this app available will be an important part of our efforts to make schools safer.”

“We are proud and eager to work with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to train students across the state to ‘know the signs’ of potential violence and report them to a trusted adult via the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System,” said Nicole Hockley, co-founder and managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, and mother of Dylan, who was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. “With these comprehensive violence prevention systems in place, North Carolina schools will be safer, protecting millions of lives and empowering youth to be upstanders in their communities.”

Through the Say Something program, students, parents, educators and others can download the app and share school safety concerns with school administrators and school resource officers at schools, who will respond appropriately. More than 5,100 schools nationwide are currently using Sandy Hook Promise’s anonymous reporting system. North Carolina will be the second statewide partnership for Sandy Hook Promise, with implementation of an anonymous reporting system that will encourage student participation in protecting themselves and their peers. (Pennsylvania began using the anonymous reporting platform in January.)

The North Carolina Center for Safer Schools, part of the Department of Public Instruction, piloted an app in five school districts in 2015 and 2016. In that pilot, the center received tips related to bullying (39 percent), danger (25 percent), drugs (24 percent), weapons (5 percent), fighting (5 percent); and underage drinking (2 percent). In 2018, the North Carolina General Assembly included development of a statewide app in the 2018-19 budget bill.

Tips can be sent in via web, a phone hotline, or through the app – including photos and videos. A crisis center staffed 24/7 by trained counselors will triage, categorize and deliver tip information. Tips will be categorized as either “life safety” or “non-life safety” based on the incident and information the school-based teams provide. The Crisis Center will notify school-based representatives after hours when tips are life threatening and, in cases of imminent threat, contact local 911 dispatch.

Johnson said he believes that Sandy Hook Promise’s strong emphasis on training is key to a successful program. Say Something trains students, teachers and school administrators how to recognize warning signs and signals of individuals who may be a threat to themselves or others and to “say something” to a trusted adult or use the anonymous reporting system.

Training will be provided not only for educators, but also for law enforcement agencies. The Sandy Hook Promise team and a DPI School Safety Team will be reaching out to school leadership over the next several weeks to provide information about implementation and training. Learn more about the Say Something Anonymous Reporting System at this link.

The North Carolina Turnpike Authority was chosen among over 60 different applicants to be a major test site for self-driving cars.

The NC Turnpike Authority was formed in 2002 to oversee toll road projects across the state. They currently oversee the Triangle Expressway, Monroe Expressway, I-77 Express Lanes, I-485 Express Lanes, and the U.S. 74 Express Lanes.

The 10 organizations that were approved to test the safety of automated vehicles include:

1. City of Pittsburgh and the Thomas D. Larson Pennsylvania Transportation Institute
2. Texas AV Proving Grounds Partnership
3. US Army Aberdeen Test Center (Maryland)
4. American Center for Mobility at Willow Run (Michigan)
5. Contra Costa Transportation Authority and GoMentum Station (California)
6. San Diego Association of Governments
7. Iowa City Area Development Group
8. University of Wisconsin-Madison
9. Central Florida Automated Vehicle Partners
10. North Carolina Turnpike Authority

“The federal role in these sectors is still in its infancy. We want to work with Congress to position the federal government as a catalyst for safe, efficient technologies, not as an impediment,” noted Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a recent statement.

The new movement has grown so quickly that famed attorney Alex Glassbrook has now written an book on driverless car laws.

Although North Carolina has now been selected, it’s still to be determined which roads will test the self-driving cars and when the testing might begin.

You can find out more details about the self-driving designation areas here at www.transportation.gov/AV.

With employers expecting to hire 16.6 percent more graduates from the Class of 2019 than in the previous year, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its report on 2019’s Best & Worst States for Jobs.

The site compared all 50 states across 33 key indicators of job-market strength, opportunity and economic vitality. The data set ranges from employment growth to median annual income to average commute time.

The Tar Heel State was ranked #42 in the nation, just behind Pennsylvania and Arkansas. South Carolina was ranked 7 places higher at #35.

What do you think about the ranking?

How do you feel about North Carolina’s job market?