For small school districts like Kelseyville Unified School District (KVUSD) in northern California, designating a staff member to monitor students’ use of the virtual environment isn’t an option. By combining artificial intelligence with trained safety experts, Gaggle offers the level of attention Superintendent Dave McQueen needs to safeguard his students. “What Gaggle does makes my job easier,” said McQueen. “I’m not having to monitor everybody’s accounts—Gaggle is taking care of that and I just receive alerts when something requires my attention.”
KVUSD has been a Gaggle partner for several years, utilizing the student safety platform to effectively support struggling students. Located in a small rural community with just over 3,300 residents, KVUSD serves 1,700 students across seven schools. “Some other services are way too labor-intensive,” continued McQueen. “You need an administrator to go through everything, and they’re already busy. It takes time. It’s nonstop. To have only the alerts that genuinely need attention come directly to you is just way better.”
The district has been able to intervene in a variety of concerning situations thanks to Gaggle alerts, including suicide, self-harm, threats of violence, and bullying. “What’s great about Gaggle is that I don’t have to go looking for these situations,” said McQueen. “It’s good to know that I have this resource to help me deal with situations like this immediately. I’m getting the alerts and each one clearly shows the level of severity, so I know right away if something is really bad.”
For KVUSD, having Gaggle in place helps the district ensure that students are safe and secure in the digital environment. “Gaggle is worth having because it’s been so effective at helping students,” continued McQueen. “We’ve been able to help multiple students, intervening with situations like suicides and fights—it’s really been beneficial. Even if it had only helped one student, it would still be worth it.”
Read the case study to learn more about how this rural district protects students as they utilize Google’s suite of educational tools.