Gaggle Press Releases

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (April 16, 2020) – Gaggle, the pioneer in helping K-12 districts manage student safety on school-provided technology, announced today that it will integrate its safety solution, under the name Gaggle Safety Management for Teams, with Microsoft Teams, providing support for schools and districts by monitoring student communications for warning signs of crises.

Gaggle Safety Management for Teams uses a combination of machine learning and human safety experts to review students’ communications and use of online tools. The solution alerts school officials when students show signs of self-harm, depression, thoughts of suicide, substance abuse, cyberbullying, unhealthy relationships, and credible threats of violence against others.

“Using Gaggle Safety Management for Teams will help schools prevent bullying, suicides, and school violence among their students as well as identify students who are depressed or engaging in self-harm,” said Gaggle CEO Jeff Patterson. “We analyze and review the use of collaboration platforms and tools, such as Microsoft Teams, for 4.5 million students across the United States. We catch cries for help that school leaders will completely miss unless they have visibility into students’ use of school-issued technology.”

Steven Abrahams, PM, Partnerships for Microsoft Teams, said, “This integration brings together the security and privacy of Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Teams with the near real-time monitoring of Gaggle Safety Management to help provide a safe workspace for students and teachers. During this time of increased distance learning, Gaggle Safety Management for Teams will help schools provide a safety net for students in this new environment.”

Patterson continued, “Teams is a powerful tool for student learning and engagement, and we ensure that teachers and schools can use it in whatever way they see fit with peace of mind. There are no false positives; only actionable safety items are forwarded to emergency contacts. And in the case of life-threatening situations, immediate phone calls will be made to ensure that students are protected.”

For more information or to sign up for Gaggle Safety Management for Teams, interested districts and schools can visit https://news.gaggle.net/microsoft-teams-integration.

About Gaggle|www.gaggle.net

Since 1999, Gaggle has been the leader in helping K-12 districts manage student safety on school-provided technology. Using a powerful combination of artificial intelligence and trained safety experts, the safety solution proactively assists districts 24/7/365 in the prevention of student suicide, bullying, inappropriate behaviors, school violence, and other harmful situations. Most importantly, Gaggle continues to help hundreds of districts avoid tragedies and save lives, while also protecting their liability. In the 2018–19 academic year, Gaggle helped districts save the lives of more than 700 students who were planning or actually attempting suicide. For more information, visit www.gaggle.net and follow Gaggle on Twitter at @Gaggle_K12.