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GoGuardian Beacon provides a sample letter that schools and districts can customize and send to staff who will have access to Threats and Violence alerts on the Beacon Alerts page. This letter helps orient designated users to the Threats and Violence alert categories available in Beacon Core.
Remove all instructional text before sending this letter. Replace all bracketed placeholder text — such as [insert name of school/district] — with your school or district’s information. This template is provided for informational purposes only. GoGuardian does not warrant that it satisfies any applicable federal, state, or district requirement. Your school or district remains solely responsible for ensuring all communications with staff comply with applicable laws, standards, and policies. Contact goguardianbeacon@goguardian.com with questions about how to use this template.

Letter Template

Dear [insert name],This school year, [insert name of school/district] has adopted GoGuardian Beacon Core services as part of our school’s broader suicide prevention program. Included with this service, GoGuardian Beacon also offers a feature that can alert staff when a student is browsing Threats and Violence related content. You are receiving this letter because you will have access to the Beacon Alerts page for Threats and Violence alerts and will be reviewing alerts as they come through.What is GoGuardian Beacon?GoGuardian Beacon helps notify [insert name of school/district]‘s counselors and other school support staff if the system detects that a student searches, creates, views, or interacts with online content that could be related to suicide or self-harm. GoGuardian Beacon can also alert staff to potential student safety threats or violent content based on search activity. Because of this, GoGuardian Beacon helps [insert name of school/district] identify when a student may be at risk.GoGuardian partnered with school suicide prevention efforts in developing, designing, and supporting its GoGuardian Beacon product, including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (a nationally recognized not-for-profit organization dedicated to suicide prevention) and the American Association of Suicidology.It is important to know that neither [insert name of school/district] nor GoGuardian Beacon can detect every situation when a student is suicidal or every instance of threats and violence.What to expectAs a Beacon user, you can expect to see alerts populate your Beacon Alerts page. [Insert the actions users must take when they receive alerts.]What are all of the Threats and Violence categories?Guns & Bombs — Online searches inquiring about how to acquire, build, use, conceal, or transport a gun or bomb.Violent Acts — Online searches that explicitly inquire about how to commit a violent act, how to obtain the means to commit a violent act, or that express a desire to commit a violent act.Bullying — Online searches indicating that the person searching is a victim of bullying, harassment, or threats, or is seeking help to stop bullying, harassment, or threats.Historical Acts — Online searches that directly reference specific school shootings or attacks, or specific perpetrators of those attacks. The name of a school or perpetrator must appear in the text.What will an alert look like?Each Threats and Violence alert card on the Beacon Alerts page displays the following information:
  1. Student Name — Name and email address of the student who generated the alert.
  2. Date — The date and time that the alert was generated.
  3. Frequency of Alerts — The total number of recent alerts that this student has generated.
  4. New Alert — New and unread alerts are distinguished by a dark outline and light blue highlighting.
  5. Actions Taken For This Alert — List of actions recorded by counselors within the alert details page.
  6. Primary Guardian — Primary parent or guardian contact information. Open the alert for full contact details.
  7. Predicted Category — A description of the online behavior as identified by Beacon.
How do I take action on an alert?There are two options for reviewing Threats and Violence alerts:Option 1 — Toggle any actions taken related to this alert, including an in-person conversation, guardian contact, or response protocol initiation.Option 2 — Select a risk level for this specific alert.Note: Taking action on an alert card removes the blue outline and stops further email notifications about that alert.It is important to review the Beacon Help Center resources for more information about Beacon. Let us know if you have any questions.Warmly,_________________________[Insert name of school administrator (e.g., principal)][Insert name of school/district]

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Resources

Alert Categories

Reference definitions for the four Threats and Violence alert categories.

Enable Alert Categories

Turn on Threats and Violence categories in Beacon settings.

Alert Preferences

Configure which alert phases and categories generate notifications.

User Roles and Permissions

Review the access levels available to Beacon users.
Last modified on July 15, 2026