Beginning in July 2021, Capital School District will be implementing a new student safety system, GoGuardian Beacon. By working together, this system can help us protect our students from the dangers of suicide and other potentially harmful behaviors.
Suicide is one of the most pressing issues facing our youth; in fact,19% of students in 2019 reported seriously considering attempting suicide (https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/feature/). While some youth may have difficulties asking adults for help, nine out of ten teens who report symptoms of depression report going online for information about mental health issues (Victoria Rideout, M.A. and Susannah Fox, Digital Health Practices, Social Media Use, and Mental Well-Being Among Teens and Young Adults in the U.S., 2018).
What is GoGuardian Beacon?
GoGuardian Beacon helps notify you, school administrators, Capital School District school based mental heath members, and/or other school support staff if the system detects that a child searches, creates, views, or interacts with online content that could be related to suicide or self-harm. Because of this, GoGuardian Beacon helps us detect and intervene when a child may be at risk of suicide or self-harm.
It is important to know that neither Capital School District nor GoGuardian Beacon can possibly detect every situation when a child’s safety is at risk.
What is my role as a parent/guardian with GoGuardian Beacon?
We understand this information can be concerning, but please know that we are in this together. Emotional ups and downs and general curiosity are a natural part of child development. You have a vital role in supporting your child’s emotional wellbeing, however, alerts are only based on your child’s online activity, and should not be used to assess his or her mental status.
Therefore, if risky behavior is detected by the GoGuardian Beacon system, a trained professional from the Capital School District or Dover Behavioral Health System may contact you to determine that your child is safe. Additionally, parental notifications after school hours have been enabled so that you automatically receive an email when there is an identified concern. This email will provide you with several helpful resources to access for guidance and support. Should you receive a phone call or email, you may consider having a conversation with your child about his or her online activity and to determine if anything is troubling your child. It’s ok to be direct and ask “Are you thinking about suicide?”
Please ensure that your child’s school has your correct email address and phone numbers.
If you have any questions, please reach out to your child’s principal. Thank you for helping us keep our students safe.