Hanover to auto-enable Securly monitoring for core classes in grades 6–12

Hanover County School staff told the board on Aug. 11 that the division will automatically enable the classroom monitoring tool Securly for core classes in grades 6 through 12 at the start of the school year.

"It is now gonna be on automatically for all of our teaching staff for grades 6 through 12," a technology presenter said, describing the change from a manual opt-in last year. Staff said the tool will run in the background for most core classes but may be disabled by schedule in a few electives (for example, band).

The presentation highlighted a second product, Analytics Plus, which officials said will provide new metrics—such as "learning time" and a measure of device activity after normal hours—that can be reported at district, school and classroom levels. Staff said instructional-technology coaches (ITCs) will use these data together with walk-through observations to support teachers and to identify instances of passive screen time.

Presenters emphasized that the tools are intended for instructional improvement and supervision rather than routine student surveillance. They said chat features are teacher-to-student only, administrators will retain historical records for follow-up, and the division plans quarterly updates to the board on how the metrics are being used.

Board members asked about elementary-level coverage, the feasibility of teacher-level breakdowns, and alignment with pedagogy; staff said elementary schedules and the complexity of setup require a phased approach and that some teacher-level analysis is possible but will depend on use and privacy safeguards.

Board members requested ongoing reporting and examples of how data inform practice. The division said it will provide quarterly updates and that ITCs will pair quantitative metrics with qualitative classroom observations to assess instructional impact.