Mr. Steffes is joining WHS for its first-ever position which is Safety Security Coordinator. Mr. Steffes was a policeman for 29+ years in the City of Wyoming and did a lot of assignments regarding patrol, community service, and even worked with a SWAT team.
After a while of being a detective Lieutenant Mr. Steffes decided to join WHS and felt like he slid right in. “In that time I was blessed to be able to experience all that stuff,” Steffes said after explaining his work in the force. “It kind of set me up for this job they created here at the public schools.”
Mr. Steffes felt that WHS was lacking a filter, and then went into looking for products to help with that. After doing some research, getting information from other Safety Security Coordinators, and working with the IT department, he chose Gaggle.
Here at WHS, we have a new system, it’s like having a watchful eye to make sure everything is going smoothly. Mr. Steffes is our new Safety Security Coordinator, a new position here at WHS.
He introduced us to Gaggle, Gaggle uses advanced technology to monitor students’ online activities and identify any potential risks or concerns. It’s a way for schools to create a safer online environment for students and provide support when needed. Gaggle monitors for a variety of risks to help keep students safe online. It’s like having a digital guardian that helps identify potential dangers and allows schools to take action to ensure the well-being of students.
Some people may think this can result in many false positives, but Gaggle understands that sometimes innocent things can be flagged as potential risks. That’s why they have a team of real people who review the flagged content and make sure to differentiate between harmless stuff and actual concerns.
The opinions on our school’s principles are important as well.
“I think it’s helpful because it has enabled us to identify some concerning situations”, said Vice Principal Varney. She explained that it can help prevent dreadful situations from happening. She even told us that it’s already done some good work.
Late at night, there was a student that had a “possible threat” which turned out to be true. One student who wrote about wanting to commit suicide led Gaggle to go through the process of informing Mr. Steffes about it. He then informed the area police, and they went and did a home visit and determined that the student needed to go to the hospital and be assessed.
“It allows us to address things that are happening almost in real time”, said Principal Baumbach.
He explained that the timing of Gaggle can allow us to be somewhat more efficient. Also, it may not be exactly on time but it can save many lives.
Our thoughts before researching into this program were different from what he thinks now. Before we were terrified of our information being seen by our school.
We then found that it’s only connected through our school’s email, they can’t see it entirely. everything.
Gaggle can be a great thing for our safety and well-being. While we may not want our teachers and principals to know what severe things are going on in our lives.
But, maybe it can help.
