How GoGuardian Teacher's Chat Function Helps Educators Reach Every Student

In her 21st year with the Waynesboro Area School District in Pennsylvania, eighth-grade science teacher Catherine Myers utilizes GoGuardian Teacher’s chat function to ensure every student is seen, especially those who aren’t the loudest. 

Myers became a teacher to be who she needed when she was growing up. Navigating severe dyslexia at a time when public schools weren’t equipped to support students like her, she knows firsthand how crucial it is to foster connection. Her early experiences shaped her belief that every student deserves to feel understood, even (and especially) those who aren't comfortable speaking up. 

Over the past few years, GoGuardian Teacher’s chat capabilities have become essential to her approach, helping her build meaningful relationships by meeting students where they are.

Meeting students where they are

While GoGuardian Teacher is widely recognized as a classroom management solution, Myers sees it as so much more. It doesn’t just help her with instruction, but also enables her to build relationships with her students.

“[GoGuardian Teacher] helps me even the playing field for all my kids. Not just ‘Susie Outgoing,’ who everybody knows made the soccer team and has two dogs. The loud kids get to be known the best,” she explained.

For quieter students, the chat function of GoGuardian Teacher offers a way to be heard without having to speak in front of the entire class. That might sound small, but anyone who’s ever been a middle school student knows small things matter.

“As a kid who wasn’t the most outspoken, and who, quite frankly, never felt like my teachers knew me, I also know I never really gave an effort to speak up. So I know that’s always been a thing for some kids. They just didn’t really want that interaction.”

Now, Myers finds her students are more willing to share when it feels like a text, not a spotlight shining brightly on them for all to hear.

“When they use the chat feature, they just see it as texting me. They know whatever they write is just between me and them. Unless they write something crazy…then there are going to be repercussions,” she said with a smile.

Real conversations without the pressure

In her classroom, connecting with her students via chat with GoGuardian Teacher has become a lifeline for a wide range of students. Myers recalled one moment from the past year that illustrates just how meaningful that channel can be.

“I had one student who was struggling at home. He was never really a kid who opened up in class. We used the chat feature and went back and forth. Thankfully, it turned out not to be something scary, but I was able to convince him to talk to the counselor.”

Before this interaction, this student had never spoken to the school counselor. But through GoGuardian Teacher, Myers was able to gently support him while navigating her responsibilities as a mandated reporter.

“After the class was over, I was able to meet with guidance and show them ‘Here's the transcript of what we were talking about. Do I need to take this a step further?’”

At the same time, she also finds the feature helpful for high-performing students, especially during stressful assessments. When anxiety peaks during a test, a quick message from a trusted adult can reset the tone for the rest of the day.

“Being able to say, ‘Hey, calm down. You need to take a breath. You need to go to the bathroom. You need to get a drink of water.’ Being able to just write those things to the kids without making a big deal is so helpful.”

Subtle support delivered in the background can make all the difference.

Beyond the chat box

These moments often lead to the creation of strong relationships that last well beyond her students’ middle school years. Myers describes some of them returning from the high school across the street. Some just to say hi, others to follow up on inside jokes that started as chats.

“The kid that made dad jokes to me over chat still comes by to say hi,” she laughs. “I’ve had kids who I wouldn’t have known had a sibling or a pet because they don’t want to shout it from the rooftop.”

In many cases, students open up about things that aren’t earth-shattering but still matter deeply to them. This includes big wins, but also disappointments. 

“Maybe they tried out for the soccer team and didn’t make it. They don't necessarily want to broadcast to everybody, but they definitely don't want to say it out loud,” she clarifies.

GoGuardian Teacher’s chat feature gives learners a safe space to share, and it provides Myers with insight she wouldn’t otherwise have.

“Those are the kinds of things that, you know, years later, I think help kids see I care. I'm not saying other teachers don't, but that I cared enough to write something back or simply ask a question.”

A different kind of value

Though her administration primarily sees GoGuardian through the lens of technological supervision, Myers sees its real value in the relationships it helps her build.

“It’s more helpful than I think my admin sees,” she said. “My admin sees GoGuardian Teacher as like a nanny feature, but as a teacher, I find it amazingly comforting.”

The school also has GoGuardian Admin, a web filtering and device management solution, which helps protect students from inappropriate content as well. For example, during a unit on Newton’s Laws, a student’s online search about falling off a building raised a red flag. Within minutes, an administrator was in the classroom.

“The fact that GoGuardian Admin can do that…it really helps,” she stated. “As someone who’s a mandated reporter and feels the weight of all my hundred-some-odd kids' safety on my shoulders, knowing that safety net is out there…it really does help me feel more comfortable with the kids being on the computers.”

Letting kids be kids

Above all, Myers believes surviving middle school is tough enough already. The chat feature helps keep things light, human, and student-centered.

“Some kids even share jokes just because they want to see whether or not I’ll laugh in the middle of class. Yes, they are here to learn. But middle school doesn’t need to be that serious all the time.”

With the GoGuardian Teacher chat function, she has a way to show every student, whether they’re loud, quiet, stressed, silly, or struggling, that they matter.

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Interested in learning how GoGuardian Teacher can help you connect with your students? Request a demo today.