Putnam County School District: Protecting the Mission of Learning
As IT Director for Putnam County School District, Lenon Harvey oversees virtually every aspect of the district's technology infrastructure, from networking and communications to cybersecurity, content filtering, and classroom technology. Supporting approximately 9,685 students and more than 20,100 devices requires solutions that keep technology running smoothly and help safeguard students every day.
After nearly a decade of using GoGuardian, Harvey says the solution has become an essential part of the district's approach to student safety, classroom management, and operational efficiency. Together, GoGuardian Admin and GoGuardian Teacher give Putnam County School District leaders the visibility to protect students while equipping teachers with the tools to keep learning on track.
"We've been with GoGuardian for at least eight years, maybe nine," Harvey says. "We pulled away at one point in an attempt to save money, but we came back because we talked to our user base — our teachers for classroom management — and they said, 'We don't want anything but GoGuardian. Why did you do this to us?’ There were almost pitchforks outside.”
The Challenge
Putnam County balances multiple priorities: Protecting students online, supporting instruction, and effectively managing thousands of devices. The district maintains a layered cybersecurity strategy, using multiple tools to protect students while ensuring teachers have the flexibility they need in the classroom. But Harvey quickly realized that not every platform could meet the expectations of both IT staff and educators.
"We wanted something comparable to GoGuardian because we were trying to save money," Harvey explains. "But we just couldn't find anything. From the teachers’ standpoint, they did not like what we went to."
The district's experience also reinforced that digital safety extends beyond blocking websites. "Student safety is our mission, not surveillance."
That philosophy became especially important after the district encountered a student researching self-harm several years ago. GoGuardian Admin includes GoGuardian Beacon Starter, which helps schools identify the most severe self-harm risks so they can respond quickly when students may need support. "We see the value in GoGuardian. If it saves one kid's life, then it's worth its weight in gold."
The plan
Today, Putnam County uses both GoGuardian Teacher and GoGuardian Admin as part of a comprehensive digital safety strategy.
Rather than serving separate purposes, the two products work together to support both district-wide safety initiatives and day-to-day classroom instruction. While GoGuardian Admin helps IT leaders and administrators apply policies and route alerts, GoGuardian Teacher puts those protections into teachers' hands by helping them guide student learning.
Educators use GoGuardian Teacher daily to manage classrooms through preconfigured Scenes. These Scenes can restrict students to a specific set of websites, block particular sites, automatically open pages on student devices, limit the number of tabs students can have open, and help keep learners focused on instruction.
The district simplifies implementation by integrating the platform with its existing Clever rostering system, allowing student, teacher, and class data to sync automatically. The district also provides ongoing professional development, including annual technology summits where teachers receive hands-on training. Because teachers are already using the platform every day, classroom management becomes a natural extension of the district's broader digital safety strategy.
On the administrative side, GoGuardian Admin helps district leaders monitor alerts, configure school-specific policies, and route notifications directly to counselors, support services, or school administrators when intervention may be needed. Together, the district can proactively identify potential concerns while ensuring teachers have the tools they need to address distractions before they become larger issues.
Putnam's approach also demonstrates how district leaders can use GoGuardian's granular policy controls to create customized experiences for different schools and grade levels, including highly restrictive environments and temporary "penalty box" policies for students who repeatedly violate acceptable use expectations.
Harvey believes successful implementation depends on communication just as much as on technology. "We try to make sure whatever we do supports instruction. It's not made to be an obstacle."
When the district introduced stricter filtering for uncategorized websites, staff received advance notice and an easy process for requesting that approved websites be added to the whitelist.
"That took about a week of effort, and it's been smooth sailing since. I feel like I can give GoGuardian Teacher to an educator, and they can just run with it."
The impact
For Harvey and his team, one of the biggest benefits of using GoGuardian Admin alongside GoGuardian Teacher has been saving time. While teachers can independently manage digital classrooms, IT staff can focus on other urgent tasks instead of manually reviewing student activity or responding to routine classroom issues.
"Before, I felt like we’d need someone whose full-time position was making sure kids stayed off bad websites." Today, that work is largely automated. "I spend minimal effort on managing GoGuardian right now. It frees up time, which translates to dollars." At the same time, teachers have the tools they need to keep students engaged without relying on IT for day-to-day classroom management.
Teachers have also seen a significant impact in the classroom. "If GoGuardian disappeared tomorrow, they'd lose the ability to wrangle their students. They would lose control of their class whenever they're on computers."
That combination of improved classroom management and stronger student safety has made renewal an easy decision. "It wasn't a hard decision. The numbers speak for themselves,” Harvey said.
By regularly sharing district data from GoGuardian, Harvey has built lasting alignment with district leadership. Instead of repeatedly making the case for the platform each budget cycle, he can point to consistent evidence of its value, saving time while reinforcing confidence in the investment. “I have to do that less and less every year,” Harvey said. “They've heard the importance of it, and it's something they expect we'll continue paying for.”
Working in tandem for teacher & student success
For Putnam County School District, technology decisions are ultimately measured by one question: Does this help protect students while also supporting learning?
After nearly a decade of experience, Harvey declares the answer continues to be “Yes.”
With educators using GoGuardian Teacher to keep students focused in the classroom and district leaders using GoGuardian Admin to gain visibility into student safety and digital activity, the district has built a digital safety program that supports both instruction and student well-being without creating additional work for teachers or IT staff.