PUTNAM COUNTY, TENN – Putnam County School System (PCSS) and Gaggle began a partnership in April of this year to keep PCSS students safe when they use G Suite for Education from Google. The school district will use Gaggle Safety Management for G Suite to further promote student and educator productivity in a safe and controlled environment.
Gaggle Safety Management combines technology with expert Safety Representatives, who review content 24/7 to assure students are safe. Gaggle identifies inappropriate words and images in Gmail, Google Drive, Google Docs, and more. Trained professionals then apply consistent, school- or district-approved policies for positive intervention, alerting school officials if there is an imminent threat to a student.
“One of our top priorities is the safety of our students. With Gaggle, their representatives are reviewing content 24-hours a day and they alert the appropriate school official so we can immediately reach out to that student,” said Tim Martin, Deputy Director of Putnam County
Schools. “Students are using technology every day to learn, communicate and collaborate with
others. Our district has policies and protections in place for use of those technologies, but
Gaggle adds additional safety so we can be confident as the students use the current technology available to them.”
Trey Upchurch, Student Services Supervisor for PCSS, added, “Putnam County has 12,000
students in our school system, Gaggle allows for real-time monitoring and allows us to keep
abreast of students’ mental health 24/7. We have already seen this be highly effective in our
system.”
Dr. Bubba Winningham, principal at Algood Middle School, shares how Gaggle has helped reach kids quickly.
“One of the benefits we have seen with Gaggle is how it helps us reach kids before issues become bigger issues. Every student has a google account, and if they are communicating
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through their G-suite with inappropriate language, photos or even violent language, Gaggle is
flagging those conversations then notifying us at the school and district level so we can put correct safety measures in place quickly. When we can address an issue promptly, we are able to care and offer support to our students while teaching them to use digital tools correctly, following up and ensuring they do. It has been an outstanding resource for us to help with and educate our students.” said Dr. Winningham.
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Photo: Dr. Trey Upchurch, Student Services Supervisor for PCSS, reviews Gaggle notifications.