Overview
Sentinel uses four tiers — 0 through 3 — to describe how serious a detected signal is and who needs to be informed. Each tier maps to a different level of urgency, a different set of alert recipients, and a different recommended response.
Tier 0 — Noise
What triggers it: A keyword or phrase matched in a student's content, but after further AI analysis the system concluded there is no genuine concern. Examples include a student quoting song lyrics that contain a flagged term, using a word in a clearly positive or academic context, or a message where sentiment analysis showed neutral or positive tone throughout.
Who gets notified: No one. Tier 0 signals are logged internally for trend analysis but do not create an alert and do not generate any notification.
Recommended response: None required. If you are seeing a high volume of Tier 0 hits for a particular student, that information is visible in the student's signal timeline and can still inform a check-in conversation.
Tier 1 — Monitor
What triggers it: A mild or ambiguous signal that cleared the noise filter but does not rise to the level of an immediate concern. The AI noted something worth watching but judged it low-severity. Common categories include early indicators of anxiety, low-level conflict language, or topics that warrant trend-watching rather than immediate action.
Who gets notified: By default, the school's counselor recipient list. Parents are not included at this tier unless the school has explicitly lowered its parent-notification threshold to 1. Sentinel's live destination today is the alert row itself — it appears in the Sentinel alert inbox the counselor dashboard reads — and no email, SMS, push or page is sent.
Recommended response: Review the alert. Check the student's prior signal history. Consider whether a low-key check-in is warranted. No urgent action is expected.
Tier 2 — Alert
What triggers it: A counselor-level concern. The AI found content that suggests a real issue — elevated bullying, signs of distress, substance-related language, or other categories that a counselor should be aware of and actively review. Severity scores of 2 or 3 from the AI analyzer typically land here.
Who gets notified: The school's counselor recipient list. Parents are included at Tier 2 if the school has set its parent-notification threshold to 2 or lower and the parent's consent has been verified. As at every tier, the alert appears in the Sentinel alert inbox the counselor dashboard reads and, for a linked parent, in the parent portal; no email, SMS, push or page is sent.
Recommended response: Open the alert and review the case file. Acknowledge the alert to signal that someone has taken ownership. Coordinate in the comment thread. Consider a counselor check-in with the student. Involve parents according to your school's protocol and the consent status of their record.
Tier 3 — Critical
What triggers it: An immediate concern that requires urgent attention. This tier is reserved for the highest-severity signals: active self-harm language, suicide-related content, grooming or sexual exploitation indicators, imminent threats of violence, or anything the AI classifies as severity 4. THEO assembles a full case file for every Tier 3 alert.
Who gets notified: Counselors and school administrators are the recipients for this tier. Parents who have verified consent are included if the school's parent-notification threshold is set to 3 or lower — the system default is 3, so a school that has not changed it includes parents for this tier only; lowering the threshold to 2 adds counselor-level alerts. The alert appears in the Sentinel alert inbox the counselor dashboard reads and, for a linked parent, in the parent portal; no email, SMS, push or page is sent.
Recommended response: Treat this as an urgent matter. Acknowledge the alert immediately. Follow your school's crisis protocol. Use the case file's counselor guidance, conversation starters, and recommended actions as a starting framework. Involve administration and contact the student or family as appropriate. Do not wait on the portal thread for urgent situations — call the school or the family directly.
How Tiers Are Determined
The AI content analyzer produces a severity score from 1 to 4 and a recommended action (monitor, alert, or critical). The alert tier is derived from that output:
- Severity 4 or action "critical" → Tier 3
- Severity 3 or action "alert" → Tier 2
- Severity 2 or action "monitor" → Tier 1
- Anything that resolves as noise → Tier 0 (no alert created)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Tier 1 alert escalate to Tier 2 or 3?
The tier is set at alert creation based on the AI analysis at that moment. If a student has additional concerning signals later, new alerts are created. You can track the pattern in the student's timeline view.
Why weren't parents included in a Tier 2 alert?
Two possible reasons: the school's parent-notification threshold is set to 3 (meaning only critical alerts include parents), or the parent's consent has not been verified. Both must be true for a parent to be included as an alert recipient: the alert tier must meet the threshold AND the parent must have verified consent.
Can we change the tier thresholds for our school?
School admins and MSPs can adjust the parent-notification tier threshold in the Sentinel configuration settings. Counselor and admin recipient lists can also be changed. Contact your school admin or MSP.
How do I know which tier an alert is before I open it?
The alert inbox shows a tier badge on each row alongside the concern category, status, and timestamp.