• Dear Parent or Guardian:

    Madison County Public Schools are using iPads for grades PK-1 and Chromebooks this school year for grades 2-12.  To help keep your child safer and more scholarly online, we use the online services provided by GoGuardian. Our division has used GoGuardian since 2017.

    It may be helpful to know that over 10,000 other schools use GoGuardian to protect 5.5 million students across the world. 

    How are we using GoGuardian?

    We have chosen GoGuardian Admin services to:

    • Help protect students against harmful and inappropriate online material
    • Help students stay “scholarly” and more focused when learning online

    When and how does GoGuardian operate?

    GoGuardian’s web-based services operate on our school’s managed Google Suite for Education Chrome accounts (i.e., when a student is logged into Chrome or a Chromebook with his/her school email address on any device). GoGuardian serves as web filtering and sends alerts to admin for explicit or self-harm searches.

    How was GoGuardian being used by our teachers? 

    During previous school years, GoGuardian was used to help keep students on task during group settings or during assigned online work. Teachers were able to monitor student activity on their computers by viewing all students’ screens on the teacher’s computer. However, this feature has been turned off until all students return to on-campus learning. 

    What are the school’s responsibilities?

    The internet opens up the whole world to our students and while this can be an amazing resource, it also can open the chances that students may be exposed to cyber predators, scams, viruses, phishing, or exposure to undesirable or improper material. Madison County Public Schools selected GoGuardian services to help our students stay safer and more scholarly online.  We will work with students during class time to help teach them digital responsibility and safety, while GoGuardian works behind the scenes to monitor in order to keep our students' online experience productive and appropriate.

    What are my parental/guardian and child’s responsibilities?

    We ask that students use their school-managed Google accounts and school-managed devices for educational purposes within the boundaries of Madison County Public Schools Student Mobile Device Agreement Form and Acceptable Computer System Use Agreements.

    When a student is off-campus, parents are responsible for supervising internet access and usage. We encourage you to discuss rules for appropriate internet usage with your child and reinforce lessons of digital citizenship and safety with him or her.  We also highly encourage you to report any potential cyberbullying or other sensitive issues to us.

    How does GoGuardian help protect my child’s privacy?

    GoGuardian has consulted with privacy experts, participates in privacy organizations, is a proud signatory of the Student Privacy Pledge, and has been awarded certifications by iKeepSafe for complying with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.  For more detailed information about GoGuardian, you may visit GoGuardian’s website.

    We are here to answer any questions that you may have.  

    Sincerely,

    Madison County Public Schools