How Lightspeed Alert Helped Schools Respond to Crisis in 2024

This year, Lightspeed Alert helped schools nationwide take action when it mattered most. By identifying risks tied to self-harm, violence, bullying, and other concerns, the platform empowered educators to intervene early and support student wellbeing. The data from 2024 reveals a clear picture of its impact, offering valuable insights into how schools are addressing safety.

1. Lightspeed Alert’s reach is growing

In 2024, Lightspeed Alert served more districts and protected more students than ever. Its reach — protecting more than 5.7 million students across 1,500 school districts — translates into countless opportunities to prevent harm and support student wellbeing. As part of the Lightspeed Systems platform, it contributes to a broader effort to safeguard over 23 million students in more than 5,000 districts globally.

2. Risks hidden in plain sight are now uncovered

By capturing early signs of self-harm, bullying, and other threats, schools were empowered to intervene and support students at critical moments.

The scale of its impact this year shows:

• 2.6 million alerts generated: These alerts flagged potential risks like self-harm, bullying, and online threats, giving schools critical insights into behaviors that might otherwise remain hidden.
• 1.7 million alerts reviewed by Human Review: Every alert reviewed by trained specialists provided context and clarity, ensuring districts could act on genuine risks without being overwhelmed by unnecessary notifications.
• 80,000+ high and imminent threats escalated: These urgent cases required immediate attention, enabling districts to intervene in critical situations like severe mental health crises, planned violence, or other life-threatening risks.
• A child at potentially serious risk is found every 4 minutes with Lightspeed Alert.

3. A growing reach means more opportunities to prevent tragedy

Lightspeed Alert doesn’t just generate data—it drives action that saves lives and builds safer schools.

• Among the 80,000 escalated cases, districts reported instances where interventions directly averted tragedies. For example, one district used an alert about explicit online searches to identify a student at risk of self-harm and connect them with a counselor within hours.
• 319,641 students faced risks related to violence or bullying, giving schools the opportunity to intervene early.
• 2,334 students were identified as being at imminent risk to their health or life, requiring urgent action.
• More than 50% of serious alerts escalated to districts came from activity in sources not covered by standard integrations that were capture by our agents. This included platforms like social media, where risks might otherwise go unnoticed. Lightspeed Alert’s AI and Human Review team worked together to ensure these hidden threats were identified, providing districts with insights that other systems missed.

4. Around-the-clock human review provides critical support

Nearly all districts—98%—enabled 24/7 Human Review, ensuring that every critical alert was assessed no matter the time of day, easing the burden on district teams. This continuous monitoring provided essential protection beyond school hours, focusing resources where they were needed most, leveraging escalation protocols to minimize disruptions for staff by ensuring only imminent threats were routed to after-hours contacts.

Safer Schools, Stronger Communities

The results from 2024 highlight the transformative impact of Lightspeed Alert. By uncovering risks, escalating urgent threats, and enabling early interventions, the platform not only prevented harm but also reinforced trust and care across school communities:

• For students: Access to timely resources and support during critical moments.
• For educators: Reduced strain from managing safety concerns, allowing a focus on teaching.
• For families: Confidence in proactive safety measures protecting students both on campus and online.

With its growing reach, advanced AI, and Human Review capabilities, Lightspeed Alert remains a vital partner for schools navigating today’s complex safety challenges. As districts look ahead, Lightspeed Alert will continue to provide the tools and insights needed to protect students, foster safer learning environments, and strengthen the bonds between schools and their communities.

To learn more about how Lightspeed Alert can support your district, visit Lightspeed Systems.