This article was originally featured here.
HUDSON, NY (WRGB) — CBS 6 is learning more about a company the Hudson City School District is teaming up with to make things safer.
Some concerned parents have told us an uptick in fights and other incidents has led to a situation that they say is "out of control."
New Jersey-based tech company, STOPit Solutions, aims to create safer, better-connected schools, workplaces and communities. (STOPit Solutions)
Questions over the school climate and safety in the district dominated last week's school board meeting. The Superintendent addressed it then, and on Monday they held "focus groups" with parents, students and community members on the topic.
Administrators are taking several steps to try to stop fights like what is seen in videos shared exclusively with us.
The district is forming a Climate and Safety Advisory Committee, and they're also partnering with a New Jersey-based company called STOPit Solutions.
This will include services like 911-direct panic alerting, safety and wellness training for students and staff and an anonymous reporting system.
The design is based on input from students and the district, and allows reporting of safety and misconduct concerns.
STOPit's 911 alert system allows faster responses. CEO Parkhill Mays says a big part of the success they've seen is because of student involvement, and that it goes beyond just stopping fights.
Mays says a lot of the anonymous reports involve students worried that a friend will hurt themselves, telling us almost every night there's a report of "a bystander seeking to help a friend, they don't know what to do."
His message to parents in Hudson is that the more eyes and ears on a solution, the better:
"The more parents, the more families, the more staff that use our platform, in addition to students, the better. This is a four-way partnership on school safety. It's students, it's staff, it's parents and it's law enforcement," Mays tells CBS 6.
STOPit is actually quite popular around here. Mays says they're working with 23 Capital Region districts.
Along with this new tech and the safety committee, Hudson is also looking to hire two more school safety officers and other staff including a career guidance counselor and social worker.
The district will also try to put more staff in areas with large groups of students to monitor and hopefully prevent these fights that have parents so worried.
The services from STOPit Solutions are expected to launch in the Hudson CSD next month.
Crisis in the Classroom is a weekly segment in which CBS 6 investigates issues faced by educators, students, and families. Send any tips to our team by emailing or by calling (518) 288-6034.