GoGuardian
West Ada has chosen to implement the following GoGuardian services on all district-issued devices:
GoGuardian Admin: Helps protect students against harmful and inappropriate online material by filtering internet activity and encourages better digital behavior by sending customized student messages.
GoGuardian Teacher: Provides teachers with tools to help manage the digital classroom, identifies students who are off-task or struggling, and monitors student progress and screens in real-time.
GoGuardian Parent App: Provides parents visibility into student browsing behavior. Allows parents to manage devices during non-school hours, by blocking websites and setting time limits on internet access.
GoGuardian Beacon: Using the filtering capacities of the system, Beacon monitors student searches and online work and proactively sends alerts on safety issues, such as suicide and self-harm. School staff are notified of these alerts during school hours and parents are e-mailed alerts during non-school hours.
West Ada Responsibilities
No filtering technology is 100% effective. The use of GoGuardian tools, along with the awareness of staff and parents/guardians, can improve online safety and appropriate uses of district technology. West Ada will work with students during class time to reinforce digital responsibility and safety, and will review and respond to inappropriate use of technology identified by GoGuardian.
West Ada staff will receive and respond to GoGuardian Beacon alerts related to suicide and self-harm during school hours. A dedicated team of trained safety specialists from GoGuardian Beacon 24x7 will help the district review and escalate suicide active planning alerts during non-school hours, weekends, holidays, and extended breaks.
Parent/Guardian Responsibilities
We ask that families use their school-issued devices for educational purposes and within district policies and guidelines.
When students are off-campus, parents are responsible for supervising device/internet access and usage. We encourage you to discuss appropriate internet usage with your child and to reinforce lessons of digital citizenship and safety (resources are available on https://www.westada.org). We also highly encourage you to report any inappropriate content, potential cyberbullying, or other sensitive issues to your student’s school leadership.
GoGuardian Beacon will automatically notify a parent or guardian outside of school hours via the email account registered in PowerSchool. It is important to know that neither West Ada School District nor GoGuardian Beacon can detect every situation where student safety may be compromised.
Additional Details
West Ada District Service Center administrators and staff will receive and respond to Beacon alerts during traditional school hours, from 7:00am to 4:00pm, Monday through Friday. Parents/guardians with GoGuardian questions and those who would like more detailed information are encouraged to call the District Service Center at (208) 855-4500.
Thank you for taking the time to review this information and for your ongoing support. West Ada is committed to ensuring that our students have a safe online environment to learn and grow.
Troubleshooting: GoGuardian Filtering on iPads
As mentioned above, West Ada recently implemented GoGuardian web filtering software. If any district-issued iPads are experiencing internet connectivity issues, the application may need to be opened to start the filtering process. For district-issued iPads, please refer to the PDF linked here to assist in opening GoGuardian.
Select the button below for information about the GoGuardian Parent application.
