SFASD Debuts FriendWatch Teen Crisis System

It all began when a local father and business owner took his son (ninth grader) and his friend to the movies.

"It was a great time, father-son bonding and a wonderful movie," said Jay Niblick, owner of Innermetrix Incorporated. "We walked out of the movies and the boys turned their phones on, and I watched as their faces turned while they looked at their phones. One of their friends killed himself that afternoon."

Niblick spoke with the boys on the drive home and further with other people in the community who knew the victim of the suicide, only to find that there were obvious signs of depression prior to the tragic event.

"The problem wasn’t isolated," Niblick said. "In both cases of suicide that happened here at Spring-Ford, there were teens that were exclusive holders of knowledge that parents and teachers don’t have. Only the peer group has it and it's not being shared."

So, Niblick determined it all boils down to "an incredibly powerful machine," which wasn't previously plugged in. That machine is FriendWatch.org. As Niblick is the owner of a technical business, he had the tools at his disposal. The website and program is designed to provide an anonymous, online system for children and teenagers to use to report red flags they seen in their social circle.

The program embeds itself on district websites and when used, the information is sent to the necessary Student Assistance Program [SAP] team for handling and guidance.

"A lot of teens in different states all cite the main reason they didn’t share this important information as fear, reprisal, loss of social approval, friends not liking me, becoming the next target," said Niblick. "There was no anonymous way for that child to share with people that could help. Federal and state mandated SAP rules exist in all schools."

Niblick approached his friend, David Shafer, who serves on the Area School District Board of Education. Shafer, along with Director of Technology Steve Reynolds, TV Technology Specialist Steve Bonetz and a group of 14 students helped Niblick launch the program.

Bonetz and the students helped shoot a short video promoting the program (see here). Reynolds placed FriendWatch on the district's website and it is now fully functional. Spring-Ford is the first district to ever use the system. Niblick hopes the rest of the country and maybe even the world can adopt the free system (the world's first anti-bullying software) in their schools.

"There are a lot of things going on with why bullying exists and how to stop it," Niblick said. "All that is wonderful. While that's happening and hopefully the eventual cure for bullying is achieved – in that interim period, kids not sharing information are free to now."

The system debuted on Tuesday during a morning assembly and students are now encouraged to use it. Student Liaison Elizabeth Brady spoke on behalf of the student body.

"I think it's really great that we’re pioneering this program," Brady said. "It is an issue and relevant to society. I can’t say I haven’t seen bullying happen at school. So, it's really great we’re doing this."