GoGuardian Monitoring Software

GoGuardian is a software program developed specifically for K-12 school districts to help keep students safe while using district provided technology at home or in the classroom.

This software is installed directly on to all student chromebooks, and is included as an administrator installed “add-on” to all student google accounts.

GoGuardian constantly monitors all student activities, blocks harmful or inappropriate websites and logs student browsing history. It also prevents students from accessing private browsing sessions, and from deleting browsing history from their accounts.

This software is active if a student is logged in to a google chrome browser with their @wgsd.us account even on personal devices, and on home wifi networks. Though it does change the way that Chrome functions, nothing will be downloaded to your personal device, and no permanent changes will be made to the device. To remove GoGuardian from the personal device, log out of and remove the student account from the browser. Steps to do so can be found here Remove a Google Account from Chrome

Please note that it is not the intention of West Grand School district to monitor or collect data from personal devices. Parents and students are advised to refrain from logging in to school provided accounts on personal devices. If you or your student are concerned about privacy and would like assistance in removing GoGuardian from personal devices please contact techsupport@wgsd.us

GoGuardian is fully FERPA compliant and you can rest assured that no one from outside West Grand School District is viewing your student’s information. GoGuardian Privacy and Trust Center

If you have questions or concerns about your student’s internet activity or browsing history, please contact your building councilor.

Overview

At the beginning of each school year, every single student is provided with one Chromebook and one charger free of any charges or student fees. We strive to provide all of our students with equal access to technology to support an equitable and flexible learning environment.

Our switch to providing 1to1 Chromebook access to all students took place during the 2019-2020 school year, and like many Districts in Colorado during the COVID-19 pandemic the rapid changes to our learning environment called for many adjustments to our policies and protocols.

Students and parents are encouraged to thoroughly read through the student handbook and our Technology Acceptable Use Agreement each year at enrollment prior to signing, as our polices continue to expand to suit the continuing evolution of online and in classroom learning.

Per existing district policy, student Chromebooks are classified as school property and are subject to fines in the case of loss or damage separate from student fees associated with in school actives such as athletics or band. These fines may be subject to change from school year to school year as prices for repairs and replacements change. Please refer to the student handbook and the student chromebook reminder form at the beginning of each school year for repair and replacement costs.

If your student has lost or damaged their chromebook, please contact your building administration before reaching out to the Technology Department. Students who have lost or damaged their Chromebook will not recieve a replacement Chromebook until the full cost for repair or replacment has been payed. For questions regarding fines for loss or damage, please contact your building Principal. For more information about these polices, or to view a copy of the Student Technology User Agreement, please refer to the nearby blocks Chromebooks and Other Student Devices and Technology Specific Policies and Agreements.

Both student Chromebooks, and student Google Accounts are monitored by software accessible to school administrators at all times.  Students should have no expectation of privacy while using a district provided device or account, even on home networks. For more information about how we view this data, concerns about privacy or inquiries about age appropriate information on internet safety and digital citizenship please contact techsupport@wgsd.us. More information about the monitoring software that we use, including articles specifically for parents will be provided in the nearby blocks, GoGuarian monitoring software and COOL Classroom Management.

Technology Contacts
COOL Classroom Management

COOL is a software program designed as a classroom management tool for teachers during class time. It is only installed on school issued Chromebooks and will not be installed on any personal devices.

This software allows your student’s teacher to view their screen during class time, close or open tabs, send messages directly to the Chromebook and to lock browsing sessions.

COOL is only active during school hours and is not accessible to any staff members between the hours of 5:00pm MST and 7:30am MST or at any time on Fridays, Saturdays or Sundays.

Even if your student is participating in at-home learning activities during the school day your student’s teacher is still able to monitor and control their activity on their district issued Chromebook.

Only your student’s classroom teacher, building principal and school councilor have access to this software and are able to manage your student’s browsing session or send them messages.

Follow this link for a video about how COOL monitoring functions

Chromebooks and other Student Devices

Student Chromebooks are issued at the beginning of each school year. For K-5 students these Chromebooks are kept in a cart in their classroom, 6-12th grade students are expected to bring their Chromebooks with them to each class period.

11th and 12th grade students are welcome to hand in their district issued Chromebook if they would prefer to use a personal device during class time. While on school premises and while using West Grand School District wifi networks, students with personal devices are expected to adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. Using a personal device during school hours is considered a privilege and may be revoked at the discretion of the High School Principal or Superintendent, at which time the student will be reissued a district provided Chromebook.

Both the use of a district issued Chromebook during class time and the ability to take it home after school hours are considered privileges and may be revoked for disciplinary reasons, or if the student has lost or damaged their issued Chromebook during the school year.

Students who have lost their privilege to Chromebook use will be provided paper copies of their assignments by their teachers.

All students will be provided with a device to take electronically administered state tests. If your student has lost their Chromebook privileges they will be provided with a loaner Chromebook to take the test.

In the event of a public health or safety incident that requires students to participate in at home learning for an extended period of time, all students will be provided with a district issued Chromebook regardless of loss of privileges or outstanding fines for damage or loss.

Student Google Accounts

At the time of enrollment every student is issued a google account in the format of firstname.lastname@wgsd.us this account is used to access our Google Apps, log in to Chromebooks and other district provided technology, participate in school activities hosted in Google Classroom and to communicate between students, staff members and teachers.

All communications are archived and monitored including emails and google chats.

After graduation, students are granted access to their google accounts for 3 years to enable them to access resources stored there for further academic or career pursuits. Notifications will be sent to these accounts 6 months, 3 months and 30 days prior to deactivation. Please note that all district provided google accounts are still considered property of West Grand School district and all communications are monitored and archived, even after the student has graduated.