New tech in Durham schools makes some students, parents feel 'spied on'

The software is called Gaggle. It monitors student activity on both school and personal devices – and the state approved it for use in any school system.

Both praise and concern have been coming from parents of Durham students.

Gaggle is supposed to monitor what you are writing – and what you are searching – on district accounts. The company says it's about student safety, which is especially important as more children experience mental health crises.

Gaggle is designed to look out for key phrases - from self-harm to threats of violence - that trigger an alert to school officials.

Some, however, feel like it crosses the line.

"I have a few different problems with it," said Jenny Coldren, a mother to three children in Durham Public Schools.

"I don't really understand the purpose of flagging things regarding mental health if we don't have the staffing to appropriately hand them – which we know we don't," she said.

The district piloted Gaggle in six schools and recently expanded it to all of them.

A student expressed his concern to the school board.

"We can't even have nurses more than two days a week at our schools. How are we supposed to stop students hurting themselves or others by non-human means if we don't even have humans on site to help with physical injuries?" he said.

Documents show the software cost about $440,000, for two years, covered by grants.

In 2021, the NC General Assembly decided to use some of the state's federal pandemic relief dollars toward a grant program for Gaggle.

WRAL's Education Insider Emily Walkenhorst says other districts including Johnston, Vance, and Hoke are also using Gaggle.

Durham's School Board Chair Bettina Umstead says she believes the software could improve student safety. She will keep an open mind, though, on if it is a good fit.

"We know that it has worked in some times and some incidents. I think we also still want to be aggressive in evaluating is it the right tool for our school system to support our students," she said.

Wake County schools used to have Gaggle, and have stopped using it. Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools have never used it.

Durham students and parents can get some of their questions answered at a school board work session next week.