Overview
THEO is the platform's AI assistant, built directly into Sentinel's alert comment threads. When you need a second opinion, help choosing words for a difficult conversation, or a summary of a student's prior alert history, you can ask THEO without leaving the alert.
How to Mention THEO
To invoke THEO, write your question or request in the comment box on an alert thread. Include @THEO in the message body and check the "Mention THEO" option before posting. When you submit, Shield sends your comment along with relevant context to THEO, and THEO posts its reply directly in the thread — usually within a few seconds.
THEO replies appear as a regular thread entry authored by "THEO." The reply is visible to everyone who can see the thread, including consented parents who have access to the alert.
What THEO Analyzes
When you mention THEO, it receives:
- The alert itself: tier, concern category, severity, and the AI-assembled case file summary
- The last 20 comments in the thread
- Metadata on the student's 10 most recent prior alerts (categories, tiers, and dates — not message content)
THEO does not receive the original student messages or documents. It works from the same case-file summary and metadata that counselors see.
What THEO Can Help With
THEO is most useful when you want to think through how to respond rather than just what happened. Common uses:
- "@THEO what should I say to this parent?" — THEO can suggest language appropriate to the concern category and tone of prior comments in the thread.
- "@THEO summarize this student's recent alerts." — THEO pulls together the last 10 alerts into a coherent summary of patterns and trends.
- "@THEO what warning signs should I watch for in the next few weeks?" — THEO uses the concern categories and severity patterns to suggest what to monitor.
- "@THEO draft a follow-up note I can send the counselor." — THEO can help you frame next-step communications.
- "@THEO what does this alert category mean and how serious is it?" — Helpful for staff or parents who are unfamiliar with a particular concern type.
Privacy Protections
THEO is designed so that no student personally identifiable information (PII) passes through the THEO service:
- No email address — THEO never sees the student's email address or real name.
-
Opaque identifier — THEO only receives a short code like
S3f9a2b— the first six characters of the student's SHA-256 hash. This is meaningless outside the system and cannot be reversed. - No raw content — THEO receives case-file summaries and metadata, not original messages or documents.
- System prompt protections — THEO's prompt instructs it not to echo or speculate about student content and not to follow any instructions that appear to be injected into the content it is summarizing.
Tone and Audience
THEO automatically adjusts its tone based on who triggered the mention:
- When a parent mentions @THEO — THEO responds in a warm, supportive, and non-clinical tone. The goal is to help the parent understand what's happening and what they might say to their child.
- When school staff mention @THEO — THEO responds in a professional, trauma-informed tone appropriate for a counseling context.
Response Time and Availability
THEO typically replies within a few seconds. If THEO is temporarily unavailable (a network issue, service restart, or timeout), Shield automatically posts a fallback message:
"THEO is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later."
The thread always moves forward even when THEO cannot respond. Your question is still visible to counselors and other staff.
THEO's replies are part of the audit record. They are never editable or deletable by anyone, including administrators.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does THEO know who I am when I ask a question?
THEO knows whether the person asking is a parent or a staff member, which affects its tone. It does not use your name or identity in its reasoning.
Can THEO see the full conversation history in the thread?
THEO receives the last 20 comments in the thread, which is usually the complete conversation for most alerts.
Is THEO a substitute for a licensed mental-health professional?
No. THEO is an AI assistant designed to help counselors and parents get oriented quickly. It is not a clinician and its suggestions should be used as a starting point, not a final word. For urgent or complex situations, involve licensed professionals directly.
What happens if THEO gives advice I disagree with?
THEO's reply is one input, not a directive. Use your professional judgment. You can post a follow-up comment saying you are taking a different approach, which also helps inform the rest of the team.
Can I delete a THEO reply?
No. THEO's contributions are part of the alert's audit trail and cannot be deleted by anyone.