Lightspeed systems

Research shows students are returning to campuses nationwide feeling depressed and anxious. Some have said they fear school shootings more than Covid. According to the US Department of Education, there has been a 700% increase in school shootings in the last decade.

In fact, earlier this month, in the Chicago area, a student and a security guard were wounded in a shooting outside Wendell Phillips Academy High School in Bronzeville. With student mental health at a new low, and the ongoing societal challenge of shootings, school safety experts agree that the conversation needs to be moved from preparation and response to violent incidents to prevention of those incidents.

Additionally, a study from the U.S. Secret Service found 75% of school shooters left clues online before the incident took place. That’s a significant number and worth exploring – can schools have a type of early warning threat detection system in place?

Eileen Shihadeh, chief marketing officer of Lightspeed Systems, an online safety and analytics solution for K-12 schools around the world, says many schools around the country are turning to high-tech solutions that utilize smart AI monitoring on students’ school issued devices. The AI system conducts threat assessments 24/7/365 that notify school officials of imminent violence or self-harm.

Shihadeh says thousands of schools across the country use the Lightspeed Alert system. The system monitors content on school issued devices as well as personal devices that are logged in on school networks and looks for signs of students in crisis or incidents of violence. It’s all done through artificial intelligence software, and if the AI catches concerning behaviors, it issues an alert, and then one of Lightspeed’s dedicated safety specialists investigate the alert to determine if it’s a legitimate concern.

“For the 2020-2021 school year, Lightspeed flagged more than 300,000 cases for student self-harm and violence,” said Shihadeh, and she states that more than 25% of those alerts were of elevated concern, including students searching for ways to die by suicide. The system alerted school officials, which then notified the parents, and a proper intervention was made. Lightspeed is also one of the few companies that have dedicated safety specialists, many of whom have extensive backgrounds in law enforcement and/or K-12 education. These safety specialists usually intervene after the AI issues an alert and they’re the ones who investigate the alert, the search history and intent, previous alerts, and make decisions on how to escalate the alert.

Parents are encouraged to call their schools to see if they use any monitoring software on student issued devices. For more information visit www.lightspeedystems.com