It's a topic that's top of mind for many parents and teachers right now: How can we ensure our children are safe at school?

For some Minnesota school districts, one answer comes from a nonprofit started after the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.

Reminders are posted in the halls of St. Francis Middle School: "Say Something."

"There's signs all over the school about it that have the phone number and like there's a QR code," said student Beverly Shepherd Flores.

The idea behind the anonymous reporting system: see it, report it. 

"If students are having, you know, some problems with their mental health and you feel that a student is unsafe, then you can use the app to, you know, get help from a trusted adult, or you know, really any issues that could cause the student mental or physical harm," said student Addison Cain.

These eighth graders say classmates value the anonymity.

"That was like I think a big thing for some students because they don't want to like start anything with anyone," said student Adriana Osei. "And you just like say what's happening, the student, everything and the somebody handles it."

School leaders implemented the program three years ago. It's offered by Sandy Hook Promise at no cost to districts.

"With a free tip line that we can use it to prevent any kind of school violence, whether that's self-harm or bullying or fighting or, you know, something more tragic," said Chris Lindquist, St. Francis Area Schools' director of community education. "At least we have an opportunity to have kids take a real investment in their own safety and their own security and the culture of our buildings, and to look out for one another."

Eight districts representing 100 schools in Minnesota use the Say Something program. Across the country, that number climbs.

"More than 8 million youth and adults have been trained in the system, and so they know how to identify warning signs and report them," said Crystal Garrant, Sandy Hook Promise's chief program officer. "And since inception, more than 320,000 tips have been reported anonymously through our anonymous reporting system."

And Garrant says they're seeing results.

"We've averted at least 18 school shootings," Garrant said. "These have been tips, we were the first to be notified of the information. There was a detailed plan of attack, and weapons were before recovered. Credible shootings prevented through our efforts."

In St. Francis, they're seeing results, too — building upon relationships educators have with students and offering another option to say something.

"If we get a tip that maybe we wouldn't have because of the culture that we're creating here, which is, say something, reach out, ask for help," said principal Heidi Critchley. "The more we can do that, the more we can help people receive the assistance that they need, the more that we're going to intervene for and maybe stop something major from happening."

"A lot of the tips we get that are life safety don't come during the day. They come at night. They come in the evenings, they come at 2 in the morning," Lindquist said. "They come when kids are really in crisis and when they don't have an adult that they can lean on to support them."

They say having the information, big or small, allows them to act.

"We're checking in with the families, checking in with the students when all of these come in to make sure that they're OK, or what do they need, what do their families need," said school counselor Lindsay Pakola.

And allows the school to better support students.

"Most of the time there's a plan, and most of the time when we have a school shooting or a major violent, critical incident, most of the time somebody else knows something," Lindquist said. "And so you know, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Shepherd Flores, Cain and Osei are also part of a club called WEB, short for "Where Everybody Belongs." It pairs eighth graders with incoming sixth graders to welcome them and build trust throughout the school year. 

Folded into WEB are initiatives behind SAVE Promise Clubs or Students Against Violence Everywhere.

SandyHookPromise.org has all the information you need to know about setting up a club or utilizing the Say Something program. It all comes at no cost to the school district.