In the fall of 2018, the Shorewood School district started employing the services of Gaggle. Gaggle is a software company that markets itself as “the pioneer in helping K-12 districts manage student safety on school-provided technology.” The software has recently come under scrutiny by those in the district who value Internet privacy. The district spends $4,276 on Gaggle every year. 

Gaggle scans Google docs, Google Drive, emails, images, Google chats and Google searches for keywords or phrases. If it detects a word or phrase related to drugs, self-harm or harm to others, it will alert the company. An employee at Gaggle will then manually review the part of the document or email containing the word or phrase. If there is no cause for concern, then the employee will move on. If the document or email contains a serious threat, Gaggle will contact Tim Kenney, SHS principal, or Amanda Jamerson, SHS assistant principal.

Although many students may not be aware of this software, it is disclosed in the district’s Aggreable Use Policy (AUP). The AUP is an agreement between students and the district that is signed during registration. The AUP must be signed for a student to use the district’s technology or Google accounts and discloses the use of Gaggle. 

Mickey Chavannes, director of instructional technology, decided to implement Gaggle on district software and Google accounts in 2018. 

“When I came here we didn’t have anything to help protect students or allow us to monitor potential situations that could arise when they’re using technology, so that’s why I implemented [Gaggle],” Chavannes said.

Chavannes stressed that the oversight on online activity of students was necessary to protect the online safety of students while on district technology.

“People are worried about or have a sense they’re always being spied on, always being tracked, always being monitored, being looked at –– that’s not something we do,” Chavannes said. “I can’t stress it enough that nobody is looking at anyone’s work unless there’s some reason why we would need to.”

Shorewood School District is required to have internet filters that comply with CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act) and COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act), two acts of legislature that aim to protect the online privacy of minors, but the district is not required to employ software such as Gaggle that scans student’s documents and emails.

Principal Tim Kenney has dealt with issues that have been detected by Gaggle in the past. Kenney acknowledged that the district has previously used Gaggle successfully to stop self-harm, harm to others, or drug usage, but he could not disclose how many times it has been successful. He also noted that about half of the time Gaggle detects an issue, the issue ultimately does not require staff attention, i.e. it is a false alert.

“I understand both sides of the issue. I can just say with confidence that I understand how we are using it,” Kenney said. “My point of emphasis to all of this is that we are using it and looking out for the safety of students. That to me is the bottom line.”

The major difference in opinion is the divide between administrators who feel that Gaggle is necessary for student safety and students and staff who feel that Gaggle is an invasion of privacy. John Jacobson, social studies teacher, is opposed to the district’s usage of Gaggle.

“Safety has a long history of being cited as the reason why certain civil liberties need to be curbed, and, in the end, it’s almost never been an appropriate rationale,” Jacobson said in a statement to Shorewood Ripples. “I completely understand that school districts have been granted the legal authority to monitor student written work, but that doesn’t mean it’s the right thing to do.”

Jacobson feels that the district should better disclose the existence of Gaggle to students and staff; however, Chavvenes maintains it is adequately communicated to parents, students, and staff.

“I would take issue with the idea that it was not disclosed with the right level of intensity. Something of this nature should be highlighted and made perfectly clear and [as] transparent as possible to everyone involved,” Jacobson said.

“Quite honestly, I think from the feedback that we’ve received in the past, students and teachers for that matter know that anything you do within this realm is or could be monitored,” Chavannes said.