PICKENS, S.C. (FOX Carolina) – AI is adding a heightened level of supervision in Pickens County schools.
For 10 years, the school district has used a program called Securly Filter to filter out harmful content on students’ Chromebooks. But the district also uses Securly Aware, which uses AI to detect red flags in students’ behavior online.
Last school year, Securly Aware sent out 355 alerts to school officials for potentially dangerous situations.
“Securely Aware is a tool that alerts our school administrators and our district administrators when certain keywords are used, or when there’s evidence of things like bullying or mental health concerns,” said assistant superintendent Dr. Jessica Preisig. “Self-harm is a big one.”
Preisig said over the years the technology has gotten smarter.
For example, it used to alert administrators when a student searched “The Great Depression.” Now Preisig said it knows the different between research for a history paper and a serious mental health crisis.
“We’ve had students before that we’ve been concerned about their mental health, and we’ve tried to work with a parent, and sometimes the parents are a little bit hesitant about that to try to plug them in with an additional counselor. But then we get a Securly alert,” said Dr. Allen Fain, the executive director of student services. “Sometimes it’s almost like a student’s crying out for help.”
When that cry is heard, the district intervenes. The parents get an alert, too.
Fain said administrators will connect the student with a school counselor or other behavioral health resources.
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