GoGuardian Launches New Suicide Prevention Technology Allowing Schools to Help At-Risk Students

GoGuardian,
a leading education technology SaaS provider, today announced the
availability of Beacon™,
a suicide and self-harm prevention tool custom designed to address the
national crisis: suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among
teenagers. This issue is especially critical for K-12 schools, as the
pre-launch deployment of GoGuardian’s Beacon found that 80 percent of
at-risk notifications, which required action, were generated during
school hours.

Designed in collaboration with K-12 school districts and leading mental
health experts, including the American
Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the American
Association of Suicidology, Beacon is the only software solution
capable of conducting real-time scans across the entire internet:
including chat, social media, forums, searches, email, and online
collaboration tools - allowing it to identify warning signs that other
services miss on school-provided devices. Beacon’s advanced AI platform
utilizes contextual analytics of phrases and emotional insights that
allow it to spot problems arising from non-intuitive or subtle signs of
depression or anxiety, indicators that are frequently missed by other
solutions that rely on keywords to trigger alerts.

“We know that students primarily communicate, express their feelings,
and explore ideas and actions across a variety of places online,” said
Tyler Shaddix, co-founder and chief product officer at GoGuardian.
“Beacon provides K-12 mental health professionals with time-critical
information so they can extend an early hand to students facing serious
personal challenges. Beacon also provides school professionals with
important context and data so they can more confidently assess and
manage each individual case.”

Beacon identifies and notifies school counselors of the different
suicide phases ranging from ideation to active suicide planning. This
critical context helps counselors deploy the best course of action at
the optimal time, ensuring they can have more engaged and productive
conversations with those students in need. Beacon also helps identify
those who are “silently struggling”: high-achieving students who are
often overlooked because they don’t exhibit external signs of depression.

“In today's digital age, it’s vital to have a tool that provides
insights into our students’ online behavior and with GoGuardian’s Beacon
we have a bird’s-eye view, able to assess where our kids are going and
if they need help,” said Dr. Roland Rios, director of technology at Fort
Sam Houston Independent School District. “The Beacon alerts we have
received have enabled us to find those children in need of extra
attention and counseling which has helped us, and helped the students
and their families.”

Beacon’s advanced AI also provides actionable insights which can help
identify larger themes that may be negatively affecting the students’
mental health by providing the necessary information to initiate a
dialogue in a way that destigmatizes the issue. For example, recently a
school district was able to identify a trend where many of their
students were struggling with their sexual identity. As a direct result
of Beacon, the district is now exploring adding specialized resources to
help their students feel supported as they navigate their feelings about
this.

“Schools are playing an increasingly critically important role in
preventing suicide. Creating a culture of safety and support, and
identifying students who are at risk are two of the life saving steps
schools can serve,” said Christine Moutier, M.D., chief medical officer
for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. “GoGuardian
presented this new opportunity to identify a whole layer of students who
may be at risk who were previously unknown. It’s important to have a
tool that supports early risk detection.”

Compatible with both Chromebook and PC devices, Beacon provides
actionable insights based on contextual analytics of phrases, patterns
and keywords. Schools can customize Beacon to complement their existing
mental health screening and suicide prevention protocols, notifying the
right staff to take quick action. With Beacon, schools are also able to
set-up after hours alerts to notify parents and emergency responders, so
schools can be confident that any critical issue, whether it’s over a
weekend or late at night, is immediately addressed.

To learn more about Beacon and access partner resources, visit: https://www.goguardian.com/beacon

About GoGuardian

GoGuardian, the fastest-growing education company in the U.S., helps
thousands of K-12 schools maximize the learning potential of every
student. Its products help educators identify learning patterns, protect
students from harmful and distracting content, and support mental
health. With GoGuardian, educators can seamlessly connect students with
engaging resources, manage instruction, and receive actionable insight
into students’ individual learning needs.

Learn more about GoGuardian’s industry-defining analytics, student
engagement, and self-harm prevention products at www.goguardian.com.

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