Bloomington, IL (June 19, 2017) – Gaggle announced today that Educational Service District (ESD) 105 in Yakima, WA, has selected the company's Safety Management solution to protect students using G Suite for Education or Office 365 from cyberbullying, self-harm, pornography and other harmful situations

Founded in 2016, the School Safety Operations and Coordination Center (SSOCC) is a full-service school safety program that helps provide a safe, secure and healthy learning environment for the ESD's 25 school districts as well as private schools and higher learning organizations in the region. As one of nine district centers, ESD 105 serves more than 66,000 students in South Central Washington, carrying out liaison activities between local school districts, the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board of Education.

"The addition of Gaggle Safety Management is a great complement to what we're providing our schools and allows us to offer complete coverage for the safety needs of our districts," said Chris Weedin, School Safety Technology Coordinator for ESD 105. "We want to provide schools the tools, resources and expertise to make their campuses, staffs and students safe, and Gaggle will play a big part."

Most of ESD 105’s safety services are managed and operated by the center, but it also works with preferred third-party vendors. Gaggle Safety Management joins InPointe and SafePointe as well as services such as 911 geofencing, social media monitoring, monthly tracking and coordination of drills and a full inventory of safety asset offered by the center. "Our mission is to create safe schools," said Weedin. "Engaging us is like hiring your very own school safety team."

Gaggle Safety Management combines technology with real people who review questionable and suspicious content in inbound and outbound e-mail, online file storage, attachments, links to websites, and other tools. “Anytime we can help create safe schools, we want to be involved,” said Jeff Patterson, CEO of Gaggle. “The safety center at ESD 105 is an excellent program that could be emulated throughout the country. We need to do everything possible to create safe learning environments for our students.”

The partnership kicks off in earnest this summer when SSOCC leaders visit with school administrators to discuss the center's offerings. On Thursday, November 2, from 9 am to 1:30 pm, ESD 105 will host a Student Safety Symposium on the lower level of the Maggie Perez Student Success Center in Yakima. The symposium is free for school and district administrators, cabinet members and other educators responsible for student safety. Student Safety Symposiums already have been held 13 different cities throughout the United States.

About ESD 105
Educational Service District (ESD) 105 supports the learning success of more than 66,000 students who attend the 25 public school districts and 22 state-approved private and tribal schools we serve in South Central Washington. As a service agency, ESD 105 meets the expressed needs of local school districts by coordinating and conducting cooperative programs that benefit the educational needs of the young people in the four counties it serves.