Hamilton School District encourages students to use the Speak Up, Speak Out threat reporting system to share concerns that arise outside of normal school hours. Speak Up, Speak Out was created by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of School Safety (OSS) and is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Originally introduced during the 2024-25 school year, the district continues to promote this resource to students in grades 5-12 at Hamilton High School, Templeton Middle School and Silver Spring Intermediate School. Tips are used to identify not just threats to schools, but also other daily safety concerns students encounter such as bullying, drug use, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and more.
“The goal is to connect students with trusted adult authorities who can help before a crisis occurs,” said Deputy Estes. “We also strongly encourage families to sit down and explore the Speak Up, Speak Out website together to foster open conversations about safety.”
The Speak Up, Speak Out resource center is staffed around the clock to respond to tips and deploy a local community response by communicating with school administrators, law enforcement and counselors.
Tips can be submitted anonymously by telephone, mobile app or via the Speak Up, Speak Out website. It is free and available for all community members to use.
Call: 1-800-MY-SUSO-1
Text: “SUSO” to 738477
Visit: speakup.widoj.gov
Speak Up, Speak Out gives students the tools to break the culture of silence and connect with adult authorities who can help. According to the Wisconsin DOJ, threats of retaliation and stigmatization often discourage students from reporting the dangerous behaviors of their peers. Research from the U.S. Secret Service shows that in 81% of violent incidents in U.S. schools, someone other than the attacker knew of the plan but failed to report it. Speak Up, Speak Out aims to eliminate this culture of silence by providing a confidential, collaborative communication system where students and authorities can work together to respond to school safety threats.
