October is National Bullying Prevention Month and more schools in and around the Quad Cities are taking prevention to the next level. It's been a year since my family was directly effected by the cowardly actions and premeditated attack of school bullies. My daughter's physical injuries healed but it was the emotional wounds that took a bit longer. I was really scared for her, hurting for her in ways I didn't know a parent could. I was disgusted by the lack of action the school took with the bullies.

Quite simply, my child fell through the cracks for years of a broken system, with minimal follow through on their own bullying policies once something did happen. Sadly, this narrative is all too familiar and true for too many Quad Cities families, some who have had to leave the district and move in order to find a school that takes bullying more seriously.

I applaud the schools who take zero tolerance so seriously, that they incorporate safe, preventative reporting measures. Many local schools are incorporating the P3 Campus, an anonymous reporting system to help faculty, police and parents intervene before it's too late.

"P3 Campus is an anonymous tip reporting solution designed specifically for the educational community. P3 Campus is a vital tool in keeping schools and students safe. School community members can report about a wide range of concerns, from mental health issues to threats of violence through our P3 Campus mobile app or through any web browser at P3 Campus.com."

According to WQAD.com,

Mercer County High is the latest school to use P3 Campus. After losing a student to suicide and thanks to the continued efforts from students who are "working with school officials to find an answer for bullying and suicide."

No student, no parent, no community should have to suffer from the worst-case scenarios of bullying.

While I have so many ideas and plans to continue to support proactive, preventative and therapy-supportive alternatives, this app is a great start to a long road of work and healing. I can't urge you enough to make sure students know to use it and know it's available.

Please, talk to your students about bullying. It's hard to believe this can happen until it happens to your child. Then, it becomes an entirely different situation and you find yourself writing blogs, speaking out and warning other parents that it is very real.

If we don't DO something, nothing will get done. What do you plan to do?