HANOVER, Mass. (AP) — In a church basement in Ohio, Nicole Hockley began teaching her first class less than two years after losing her 6-year-old son in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre of 2012.
Hockley developed her initiative from the tragedy of one of America’s deadliest mass school shootings. The program educates students on recognizing warning signs in classmates and encourages them to alert authorities through anonymous reporting or by speaking with trusted adults to prevent violence.
From that initial session in a Columbus church, the ‘Say Something’ initiative has reached thousands of students across the country. The program has collected almost 395,000 reports covering everything from school shooting threats and suicide concerns to substance abuse and harassment. Last year, one report resulted in the detention of an Indiana student who had made shooting threats against her school.
‘It’s been very successful,’ said Hockley, whose son Dylan was one of 20 first-grade students and six staff members killed at Sandy Hook in Newtown, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012. ‘Having had direct experience of both of my children being in a school shooting and my youngest one dying, I feel very compelled to honor that legacy by doing all that I can to prevent future acts of violence and school shootings.’
Sandy Hook Promise, a nonprofit organization established in early 2013 by Hockley and other family members of Newtown victims, sends instructors to all 50 states. These trainers teach students to recognize indicators of possible violence or self-harm — including social media threats, weapon fixations, or changes in behavior — and emphasize the critical importance of reporting concerns before tragedy strikes.
Students who have matured during an era of frequent mass violence coverage and regular lockdown exercises find comfort in having actionable steps they can take.
‘School shootings are definitely very scary, and they do run through your head as a high school student,’ said Addison Hunt, a 17-year-old junior at Hanover High School in Hanover, Massachusetts. ‘But I think being able to have these outlets where you can report things definitely makes me feel a lot safer.’
During a recent afternoon session, Hunt and her fellow students participated in the ‘Say Something’ presentation in their school auditorium, located approximately 20 miles south of Boston.
Keely Rogers, a 28-year-old former high school music teacher, informed the students that research demonstrates nearly all school attackers displayed warning signs in advance, particularly through social media platforms.
‘You are going to become the eyes and ears of your school through social media, right?’ she said. ‘Your teachers and staff don’t follow the same people as you. They can’t keep an eye out. They can’t keep everyone safe.’
During her presentation, Rogers displayed an Instagram message from an actual tip submitted to their reporting platform that read, ‘Don’t come 2 school tomorrow if you wanna live.’ Rogers explained that someone reported the message within three minutes, leading to immediate intervention.
Ava Khouri, Hanover’s senior class president, emphasized that one crucial message from the program was overcoming concerns about peer judgment when speaking up.
‘I think that definitely students are wary to bring these issues up to adults and administration in the school, because they’re worried they’re either going to be made fun of for tattling or getting someone else in trouble,’ she said. ‘So I think that this program definitely gave light to the fact that you’re not a tattletale if you’re helping someone and you’re helping others.’
Both Hunt and Khouri mentioned they had previously reported concerning behavior to parents and school officials before participating in the program.
The ‘Say Something’ anonymous reporting platform operates around the clock with trained crisis counselors who forward urgent situations to law enforcement and school administrators. According to Sandy Hook Promise, the most frequent reports involve harassment, substance abuse, intimidation, and self-harm concerns.
Occasionally, the platform receives urgent tips that require immediate law enforcement notification.
In Indiana last year, someone utilized the system to report that a student was planning an attack at Mooresville High School near Indianapolis on Feb. 14. This date marks the anniversary of the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida. Authorities arrested the student, 18-year-old Trinity Shockley, on Feb. 12.
The person who reported Shockley, described as her friend, stated that Shockley was fixated on the Parkland gunman and had access to an AR-15 rifle, according to police documentation. Officials said Shockley’s social media activity included a post stating ‘Parkland part two. Of course. I’ve been planning this for a YEAR.’
Shockley entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to commit murder and received a 12-year prison sentence in November, though her attorney maintained that Shockley would not have executed the plan, according to local media reports.
Sandy Hook Promise maintains that their program and reporting platform prevented the Mooresville shooting along with incidents in other locations, and has also prevented suicides.
‘So it’s bittersweet,’ said Hockley, the co-founder, ‘because I wish this had existed before Sandy Hook.’
