Most, if not all, districts across the country experienced a very different start to the 2020–21 school year. For those returning to the classroom, face masks and hand sanitizer were a staple to ensure safety for students and educators alike. In districts that opted to continue with distance learning, educators had to meet their students for the first time remotely, forging those important relationships from afar. Some districts combined the two, creating hybrid models that offered in-person learning on some days with periods of deep cleaning in between.
How were students affected during this unusual back to school season? Between school building closures, pandemic fears, civil unrest, and a tense election season, it’s no surprise that Gaggle’s data uncovered an incredible amount of stress and anxiety among today’s students.
In our special report, Ring the Alarm: Students in Crisis, we dive into what we saw during the first three months of the 2020–21 school year—and how the data compares to the same time frame during the previous school year. The data paints a clear picture of struggling students, with a 66% increase in student safety incidents, an 83% increase in incidents concerning suicide and self-harm, and a 53% increase in lives saved.
This dramatic increase in concerning student incidents during the fall semester is likely to persist this semester as schools and districts continue to deal with the impact of the pandemic. Gaggle is here to help by supporting educators in identifying students who are struggling. Our effective combination of technology and trained safety professionals provides real-time analysis and review of students’ use of school-issued accounts. Alerts flagged by the machine learning algorithms are further reviewed by Gaggle’s Safety team to determine the urgency and proper course of action.
School officials are alerted when students show signs of self-harm, depression, thoughts of suicide, substance abuse, cyberbullying, credible threats of violence against others, or other harmful situations. With Gaggle’s around-the-clock review and analysis of student content, educators have peace of mind knowing that students are being protected in the virtual environment—24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.
To learn more about the alarming student safety trends Gaggle uncovered during the first few months of the 2020–21 school year, download our Ring the Alarm: Students in Crisis special report.