When Cajon Valley Union School District rolled out a 1:1 Chromebook program in 2014, Chief Technology Officer Jonathon Guertin and his team felt that more needed to be done in terms of student online safety. Serving more than 17,000 students from pre-K to eighth grade across 27 schools in San Diego County, California, administrators initially monitored students’ online communications manually. “You can’t put adult tools in the hands of students and not provide some kind of guidance and communication,” said Guertin. “I’m a privacy guy myself, but at the same time, you’re using district equipment, you’re using district communication tools. I think we’re obligated to ensure that those tools are used appropriately.”
Cajon Valley USD started using Gaggle in 2015, and Gaggle’s team of trained safety professionals was a deciding factor for the district. “We looked at the automated solutions that other vendors have put out and were blown away by the number of false positives,” said Guertin. “I think the Gaggle touch is really having those human eyes on flagged incidents. I think that’s what set it apart from the competition.” Guertin also appreciates Gaggle’s 24/7/365 service, especially since more alerts come in during evenings and weekends rather than during the school day.
Educators in the district were startled at some of the behaviors revealed by Gaggle, and administrators didn’t always know something was going on until they received an alert. “Some students do not know how to ask for help, but I think a lot of our students know that Gaggle’s there now,” Guertin stated. “I even believe comments are purposefully written in Google Docs to reach out for help.”
Read the success story to learn more about how Gaggle helps this California district gain insight into student behavior, intervene in cases of bullying and self-harm, and save student lives.