Seminole ISD Assistant Principal, Matt Hawkins will be honored by the StayALERT School Safety Program for his district safety initiative.
StayALERT is a bilingual, confidential website, email, phone and texting resource for students, staff, parents and community members to report safety concerns, such as bullying, vandalism, suicide, drugs, weapons and more. This spring, StayALERT ran a campaign in which district students and staff were challenged to propose a solution to address a prevalent safety issue at their district. Through the campaign, StayALERT received safety initiatives from across the state, and Seminole ISD Assistant Principal, Matt Hawkins earned the Gold Award.
Hawkins’ safety initiative included plans to support parents in how to address cybersecurity, including education on “apps students are using and how they can better monitor through a variety of online tools and technology features specifically made for parents.” Two other components of Hawkins’ plan included mitigation of drug use through anti-vaping measures and an increase in safety-related content for students, such as books and display materials. StayALERT was impressed with Hawkins’ initiative and his desire to “identify specific student struggles and provide tailor-made interventions that help meet the needs of our very diverse population.”
"Kids today, especially Junior High-age kids, are growing up in a time that is unprecedented. They have unlimited information and entertainment literally at their fingertips,” stated Hawkins. “We've seen that great things have come from technology, but a lot of challenging and tough things have, too. The idea behind this safety initiative was to help find ways to help parents be more involved and observant with what their kids are doing online."
Along with the $750 awarded to Seminole ISD for district safety, Matt Hawkins will be presented with a $100 personal Amazon gift card and a wireless StayALERT charger in honor of his idea to bring safety to Seminole ISD.
To Learn More | StayALERT
Please visit www.stayalert.info.