Rio Rancho High student 'engages in episode of self-harm' on campus

Rio Rancho Public Schools’ new anti-bullying app goes live

Rio Rancho Public Schools held a special Parent U session Nov. 2 to announce it is adopting a new software that allows students to anonymously report bullying, school violence, threats and any other inappropriate behavior. On Monday, Nov. 6, that software, the STOPit app, went live. RRPS encourages students and parents to directly approach school […]

Rio Rancho High School sent an email to parents Thursday afternoon about an incident involving a student that took place on the campus during the school day.

“We want to address this situation and dispel any rumors you may have heard. During an afternoon class, a student engaged in an episode of self-harm. No one else was injured or threatened, but the incident took place in the presence of about 25 students,” RRHS administration said.

According to the email, security was called to the room immediately and the student was taken by ambulance for medical evaluation. The remaining students were relocated to a separate area of campus.

“While situations like this are rare, we do want to assure you that we take threats and acts of violence very seriously. We have a dedicated security staff who work tirelessly to ensure the safety and security of our campus, and we want to thank them for their swift action in responding to today's incident,” RRHS said. “We want to remind our students that if they ever hear rumors or see evidence of violence, threats of violence, or any other forms of inappropriate behavior, they can always report it to school staff, security officers, trusted adults, or online via the district-wide STOPIt app.”

The STOPit app, which went live for Rio Rancho Public Schools last year, is an anonymous reporting tool designed to deter and promptly address instances of bullying, school violence, self-harm and inappropriate behaviors.

STOPit was founded nationally in 2013 with a vision to give everyone a voice to help stop individuals from inflicting pain upon themselves or others. STOPit has worked with more than 8,000 schools nationwide and served about 5 million students by providing a suite of school safety solutions, including the anonymous reporting system.

STOPit’s Vice President of Partner Success Annie Martinez is part of the community affected by the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012 that saw 26 people killed, including 20 students, at an elementary school in Connecticut.

Martinez said STOPit gives students a safe place to share concerns in a way that they’re most comfortable. The app also offers a crisis text line that would put someone struggling in direct contact with a counselor who can help.

“We want to be able to again provide support and as close to real time as possible so these things don’t escalate to something more serious,” Martinez said. “The key problems that we address are violence on campus and suicide and the statistics and data surrounding violence at schools and suicide rates are continuing to increase. So the work that we provide is critically important in reducing violence on campus and suicide rates.”