Text2Them™ and Text 2 Stop It!™ Partners With Carahsoft to Provide Technologies to Combat Bullying, Drugs, Sexual Assaults and Suicides in Schools/Colleges
Bowie, MD (PRWEB) August 24, 2015 -- Text2Them Inc. (http://www.text2them.com) today announced that it has partnered with Carahsoft Technology Corp. (http://www.Carahsoft.com/Text2Them), the trusted government IT solutions provider, to make its patent-pending, two-way messaging technology solutions broadly available to the public sector market. By providing students with the ability to reach their school via anonymous two-way text messaging, Text2Them is combating the growing problems of bullying, campus assaults, drugs, and suicides in schools and colleges.
Under the partnership, Carahsoft has added Text2Them’s solutions, including its anti-bullying program named Text 2 Stop It, to the Maryland COTS Software Master Contract; the Virginia Information Technology Agency (VITA) contract; SEWP V federal contract; and The Cooperative Purchasing Network contract (TCPN) which provides access to state and local government entities as well as nonprofit organizations in all 50 states.
Text 2 Stop It uses the patent-pending, two-way texting technology to interview students who wish to anonymously inform the school of bullying/cyberbullying, drugs, fights, sexual improprieties, and other unsafe activities. The actual transcript of the conversation is then sent to the school counselors/administrators trained to intervene and combat these events.
Students text with statements such as: “There are kids that I know that smoke weed at school” or “I need help to stop my friend from committing suicide.” The Text2Them call center then replies, prompting the students to provide specifics such as time, date, location, names of perpetrators and witnesses to any particular event.
“Text 2 Stop It harnesses the power of two-way texting technology, anonymity, and the students themselves to reduce unsafe activity in and around schools,” said Tiffany Goddard, Director of Citizen Engagement Solutions at Carahsoft. “We are pleased to add this proven solution to our portfolio and make it accessible to school systems throughout the country via our contracts and reseller ecosystem.”
The Text 2 Stop It program, which has been in pilot deployment in schools in Queen Anne’s, MD, is documented to have successfully exposed bullies, violence and drug dealers, and has also been used to connect students in suicide crisis to necessary resources.
“I really feel that since we implemented this program, we have stopped a number of incidences of bullying, and perhaps saved lives. How much is that worth?” said Brad Engle, Supervisor of Student Support Services for Queen Anne’s County. In addition, the number of incidences being reported, during the second year of the program, are down by more than 30 percent.
“The pilot program exceeded anything we expected,” said Alvin Butler, President of Text2Them. “In the six months of the pilot in five schools, the students reported 22 incidences of bullying, five incidences of drug use, six reports of student-planned suicides, e-cigarettes smoking, and numerous other reports. While we expected students to report bullying, the results revealed that only 45 percent of the reports were about bullying making the majority of anonymous text conversations about other serious issues within the schools.”
For more information, view “Combat Unsafe Activities Occurring in Schools with Text 2 Stop It,” an on-demand webinar sponsored by Text2Them and Carahsoft. The program features the head of student services at a Maryland county school system who is using the solution to gain the upper hand in the battle against negative student activity. For ordering information, visit http://www.carahsoft.com/text2them; or contact Carahsoft at (703) 230-7511; cegis(at)carahsoft(dot)com;
Additional Resource:
ABC's in Focus
January 2015: In-depth story on success of Text 2 Stop It application at Maryland’s Queen Anne’s County Schools in in 2013 and 2014 which resulted in a 33 percent drop in bullying. Disciplinary referrals have also declined and students have become more vigilant.
About Text2Them (http://www.text2them.com)
While others have developed specific application uses such as Text-a-Tip, Text for Alerts, and Text to 911, etc., Text2Them has developed the first two-way text communication system that incorporates all these applications and more. Text2Them allows customers, clients and employees the ability to reach your organization and receive an auto reply, connect to a live operator and even have the text conversation transferred to another person or department within your agency. This is how your voice phone system works isn’t it? Now your organization can also communicate by text.
The company has received the top honor of Most Disruptive Technology Award at the 2014 Innovative Solutions Consortium/Loudon County Public Safety Challenge as well as recognition from several print and media sources. We believe the time has come to move SMS to the forefront of public sector communications. Visit us at http://www.text2them.com for public safety and other applications.
Text 2 Stop It (http://www.text2stopit.org)
Text 2 Stop It is a not-for-profit corporation incorporated in the state of Maryland. The company plans to file as a 501c3. The company uses the two-way patent-pending technology, developed by Text2Them, to reach students via the method of technology that feel most comfortable using. Students are allowed to contact the “Text 2 Stop It Hotline” to report any harmful behavior in their schools. A transcript of the actual conversation with the student is then sent to the school counselors or others deemed and trained to intervene on behalf of the student, school and school safety.
Our goal is to implement Text 2 Stop It nationally so any student--anywhere in the country--can stay anonymous and get the help they need by simply texting BULLY to 68398 and explaining their situation. The resources already available are then deployed to make their school a better and safer place to learn. Visit http://www.text2stopit.org for more information or just text BULLY to 68398.
About Carahsoft
Carahsoft Technology Corp. is the trusted Government IT solutions provider. As a top-ranked GSA Schedule Contract holder, Carahsoft serves as the master government aggregator for many of its best-of-breed technology vendors, supporting an extensive ecosystem of software manufacturers, value-added resellers, system integrators, and consulting partners committed to helping government agencies select and implement the best solution at the best possible value.
Alvin Butler, Text 2 Them, Inc., http://www.text2them.com, +1 240-620-5232, [email protected]
Share this article