ManagedMethods Helps Virtual Charter School Create a Safe and Secure Online Learning Environment
Sage Oak Charter School is a virtual learning academy based in Redlands, California, serving over 5,000 students and 300 staff members. Their mission is to provide students with a personalized and collaborative learning experience.
“ManagedMethods gives us peace of mind knowing that our students are protected in a virtual environment. The ability to monitor for self-harm risks and cyberbullying ensures we can step in when students need help the most.”
—Bradford Bookser, Director of IT, Sage Oak Charter School
One part of that mission involves providing collaborative learning tools, including Google Workspace, to students, teachers, and staff. However, ensuring student safety and protecting sensitive data in a remote setting posed some challenges.
To address these challenges, Brad Bookser, Director of IT at Sage Oak Charter School, turned to ManagedMethods’ Cloud Monitor platform for enhanced data loss prevention and student safety monitoring.
“When I joined Sage Oak, I was happy to see they were a ManagedMethods customer,” Brad says. “I used Cloud Monitor in my previous role and knew how valuable it is for student safety and data security. It gave me confidence knowing we had a tool in place that I trusted and had already experienced success with before.”
Challenges
As an entirely online school, Sage Oak needed to ensure that students were protected while learning in a virtual environment. Unlike traditional brick-and-mortar schools, where staff can directly monitor students’ well-being and interactions, Sage Oak had to rely on technology to create a safe digital learning space. “Because they’re all online, we need to make sure that we’re putting those protections in place,” explains Brad.
This is especially important for parents, who need assurances that their children are safe while spending hours online for their education.
“One of the biggest advantages of ManagedMethods is the support. If I put in a request, I get an answer almost immediately. Their team is responsive, knowledgeable, and always ready to help.”
—Bradford Bookser, Director of IT, Sage Oak Charter School
One of the major concerns is cyberbullying. “Bullying is a big thing,” says Brad. “We had to restrict chats for all our students because it was happening, and unfortunately, the bad apple spoils the bunch.” Additionally, the school needed a way to detect potential self-harm risks and provide support for struggling students.
Another critical challenge was securing sensitive information. Staff members were inadvertently sharing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) through Google Docs with improper permissions. “Teachers were sharing documents with ‘all of Sage Oak,’ not realizing that included students,” Brad recalls. This oversight created a data security risk that needed immediate remediation.
Results
Using Cloud Monitor, Sage Oak has significantly improved its ability to safeguard student data and monitor online activity for safety risks. It also saves them time and effort by putting both these needs in one, easy-to-use platform.
“The reporting features in Cloud Monitor are incredibly valuable. We can easily customize reports, track student activity, and provide admins with the insights they need to keep our online learning environment safe.”
—Bradford Bookser, Director of IT, Sage Oak Charter School
When Brad first started at Sage Oak Charter School, one issue he noticed was that some teachers were sharing documents containing personal information using global link share. This is problematic because it means that the data is freely available to anyone.
“Using Cloud Monitor, we were able to find the files that were being shared improperly and change the sharing settings,” Brad explains. “Then, we set up policies in the platform so improper document-sharing permissions would be automatically corrected by the platform.”
This simple change significantly improved Sage Oak’s data security posture, while saving Brad’s IT team a ton of time going forward.
Cloud Monitor’s policies for automatically detecting cyberbullying and self-harm have also helped the school stay proactive with online student safety. The platform’s ability to monitor and respond to potential student safety risks has been a game-changer. “If there are indications that students are experiencing or considering self-harm or suicide, we get alerted so we can provide them with the resources they need,” says Brad.
Additionally, Brad benefits from the reports he can get from Cloud Monitor. “The reporting is great—you can customize it, download different reports, and provide valuable information to admins. There’s a lot of good data we can see regarding student activity, which helps us stay proactive in ensuring their safety.”
Another key benefit is the support provided by the team at ManagedMethods. “The support is amazing,” Brad emphasizes. “If I put in a request, I get an answer almost immediately. That level of support is difficult to find with vendors these days.” This level of responsiveness has made it easier for his team to maintain security and safety without unnecessary delays.
Ultimately, Brad sees ManagedMethods as an essential investment for any school, especially those that have virtual learning programs like Sage Oak. “You can’t put a price on student safety,” he says. “Giving parents peace of mind that we care about their child’s safety—especially in a virtual environment—is invaluable.” With ManagedMethods, Sage Oak Charter School continues to provide a secure and supportive digital learning experience where its students can thrive.
Want to learn more about how Cloud Monitor could improve your school’s cybersecurity? Claim your free Google Workspace and/or Microsoft 365 security and safety audit today.
