"Phillips saw that this was a severe alert for an eighth-grader. So, Phillips spent her evening on the phone with the student's mom, probing her to figure out what was going on and how vulnerable the student was. Phillips also called the police, she says, noting that she tells students that the chats are confidential until they can't be. That was last school year, in the spring. He's alive and well. He's in ninth grade this year, Phillips says."
"Navigating budget shortfalls and limited mental health staff, Interlachen Jr-Sr high school, where Phillips works, is using an AI platform to vet students' mental health needs. Phillips's district has used Alongside, an automated student monitoring system, for three years. It's an example of the growing category of tools that are marketed to K-12 schools for similar purposes, with at least nine companies getting funding deals since 2022."
"Alongside says its tool is used by more than 200 schools around the US and argues that its platform offers better services than typical telehealth options because it has a social and emotional skill-building chat tool where students yak about their life problems with a llama called Kiwi that tries to teach them to build up resilience and its AI-generated content is monitored by clinicians."
Schools facing budget constraints and limited mental health staff are adopting AI-powered monitoring systems to identify students at risk of self-harm or harming others. Brittani Phillips, a middle school counselor in Florida, received an alert from an AI platform about an eighth-grader showing warning signs. She contacted the student's family and police, ultimately helping prevent a crisis. The student now trusts Phillips and greets her in the halls. Interlachen Jr-Sr High School uses Alongside, an automated monitoring system, which has been deployed for three years. At least nine companies have received funding since 2022 for similar tools. Alongside operates in over 200 schools nationwide and features a chat interface with an AI character that teaches resilience skills while clinicians monitor the AI-generated content, providing mental health resources to resource-limited schools.
#ai-mental-health-monitoring #school-counseling-technology #student-crisis-intervention #mental-health-resource-gaps #k-12-education-technology
Read at www.theguardian.com
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