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Challenge

Rosedale Union School District faced mounting pressures to keep students safe amid rising mental health concerns, increased online activity, and staffing limitations. With just a small district team overseeing safety efforts across nine schools, they lacked the visibility and bandwidth to catch early warning signs of student distress.

“We have a big responsibility to make sure our students, our staff, and any parents or visitors are safe… but it takes planning, preparation, and being proactive,” said Crysta Silver Hill, Chief Administrator of Student Support. Their teams needed a way to quickly identify online threats, provide meaningful follow-up, and respond around the clock—without overburdening already stretched staff.

Ratkaisu

Rosedale adopted Lightspeed Alert to monitor student online activity in real time and added StopIt to empower students and families to report concerns anonymously. Together, these tools created a layered, proactive approach to student safety.

Valonnopeushälytys

• Automatically flagged high-risk student activity.
• Human Review Team triaged and escalated imminent threats 24/7/365.
• District and school staff were looped in simultaneously for faster action.

“Before Alert, we didn’t realize how much was happening. Now we get a pulse on our population. It’s given us the ability to intervene before things escalate,” said Tina Altergott, Director of Special Education.

Lightspeed StopIt

• Allowed anonymous reports of bullying, self-harm, or threats from students and parents.
• Supplemented alert data with reports from those closest to incidents.
• Rolled out with structured student training and parent communication.

“Some reports come from kids under 13—trying to help their friends. They tell us things we can’t see. That’s why we do this. We don’t have a choice,” said Crysta Silver Hill.

The district also structured safety response teams, trained in Comprehensive School Threat Assessment Guidelines (CSTAG) and safety screening protocols to handle alerts efficiently and empathetically.

Results: Faster, More Targeted Interventions

• Alerts were acted on within 2 minutes.
• Students who were quietly struggling were identified and supported—many for the first time.
• Teams could differentiate between false alarms and real crises, especially with contextual insight from school sites.

“One student tested how fast we’d respond. When the school psych walked in, he said, ‘Two minutes – that’s a record,’” said Megan Smith, Coordinator of Special Education.

Expanded Safety Net Without Overload

Shared accountability between district staff and school leaders eased the burden of after-hours alerts.

• 24/7/365 coverage felt sustainable thanks to team texting, layered responsibilities, and the support of Lightspeed Safety Specialists.
• Customizable escalation settings ensured alerts reached the right people at the right time.

“Sometimes kids type things into their computers because they know we’re going to see it. They’re aware that it’s being monitored. Sometimes they’ll even say, ‘I know the principal is going to see this,’ and they do it because they want someone to notice—they want help,” said Crysta Silver Hill.

Trusted Community Relationships

“I’ve never had a parent upset that we were worried about their child’s safety—ever. They’re very appreciative, and it usually gets the ball rolling to get them the support they need,” said Tina Altergott.

• Parent feedback was consistently positive, even after late-night calls.
• Students began using Stopit to advocate for themselves and others, often revealing serious concerns.
• Principals, once hesitant, now embraced the tools for their ability to highlight campus-specific issues.

“We would get alerts and send them out to principals—and they’d say, ‘How do I get that alert? I need to know what’s happening on my campus.’ The more people receiving them, the quicker someone acts, even after late-night calls,” said Crysta Silver Hill.

“It wasn’t a burden. It was enlightening. We found hot spots on campus and got ahead of problems we couldn’t see before,” said Tina Altergott.

Rosedale’s experience shows how layered safety systems, strategic team coordination, and compassionate follow-up can transform a district’s ability to protect and support every student—before, during, and after a crisis.