What is the role of schools in creating responsible citizens? How stringent should schools be in monitoring the behavior of their students? In the 21st century, those questions have taken on new meanings with the rise of social media and the easing of communication between people. But with Morris Hills dedicated to protecting the mental and physical health of its students, the district decided to implement a new safety monitoring software for the 2023-2024 school year called Gaggle.
Gaggle’s website describes its software as a student safety technology that avoids tragedies and saves lives. According to Mr. Merle, Gaggle was identified by the Board of Education and the superintendent as an improvement over the previous monitoring software used in MHRD schools, which was known as Bark. With a focus on “safety and security,” per Mr. Merle, this new software Gaggle can identify language of interest to the school on school-issued devices—such as language about weapons, self-harm, depression, or harm to others—and allow the school to direct students in need to the proper resources.
For example, if Gaggle identified if a student was expressing signs of depression, the school would then set up a meeting between that student and their guidance counselor to get the student any resources that they might need. Mr. Merle believes that Gaggle has been more successful than its predecessor Bark in getting students mental health help—which has been extremely important due to the lasting effects of social isolation the last few years.
The school hopes that students will become more careful with the language that they use on social media and at school. In flagged Gaggle cases that are not connected to mental health or behavioral issues—such as when a student uses talk about self-harm to exaggerate their emotions—the administration reminds those students that they should not “send anything you wouldn’t want your grandparents or your mother or father to see.”
Another new software that was introduced this year was Navigate 360, which is operated by the Rockaway Police Department. Navigate 360 surveys public social media accounts for key words like “Gifford Field” or “Morris Hills” and decides if those public posts pose a threat to the safety of the school. If this is the case, the police department lets the administration know so that they can take proper action. This cooperation between the police and the school is becoming more common both state-wide and nationally, according to Mr. Merle.
With it being the administration’s mission to provide a safe and secure environment for the student body, the introductions of Gaggle and Navigate 360 are means to help maintain that positive environment for years to come.