“Our schools are really struggling right now,” said VirtuOwl General Manager Beau Morgan. “Our students are really struggling. Mental health issues in schools have increased by 40% since 2020. School counselors are currently under strain. The recommended student-to-counselor ratio is 250 students per counselor.Alabama’s average is 409 students per counselor.
The result is a safe and secure platform designed to help students work with counselors, faculty, and other administrators to address mental health issues.
Debra Hays and Brandon Barker founded VirtuOwl in 2022. Hays’ background is in technology software engineering, while Barker comes from the world of software development and innovation. Their experience with students in mind and technology matched Morgan’s educational experience as a former teacher at Woodlawn High School in Birmingham.
“When we went through COVID-19, unlike other video conferencing platforms that had a lot of data breaches, we needed to make sure that students had a safe place, a safe place where they could get the help they needed. “They thought there was,” Morgan said.
VirtuOwl uses existing FERPA and HIPAA certified telehealth technology to connect students with certified mental health counselors.
“It’s a great fit in terms of being able to facilitate these types of sessions,” Morgan said. “We talk to more and more schools and school districts, and they ask us, ‘Will it help?’ Our answer is yes.”
Counselors can safely store notes and consult other professionals if needed. We can also provide scholarship assistance, NCAA competition rules compliance, FAFSA assistance, college and career preparation, and more.
A secondary use of VirtuOwl is to help other education professionals use their time more efficiently.
“The majority of a school counselor’s time is spent on administrative tasks such as handling communications and setting appointments,” Morgan says. “First, we aim to help school counselors and other staff within schools become more efficient.”
For now, the startup only serves Alabama school districts and works with high school students.
“I want to start here,” Morgan said. “But really, this is also a smart way to grow a software company. We want to be able to prove ourselves and grow from there. We understand that our core focus is on supporting students and growing from there.”
VirtuOwl can also utilize certified educators to assist you with other aspects of your studies.
“We’re at a stage right now where we’re developing a really good product,” Morgan said. “The needs of schools and districts are changing and are different everywhere you go. Our approach is mental health, but we also cater to the needs of all types of academic interventions, such as tutoring and ACT preparation. I can.”
Counselors and educators can set their own hours and fees.
VirtuOwl is located in the heart of downtown Birmingham. Morgan explains that the city’s startup scene is a great incubator for companies, with people willing to invest their time to see companies flourish.
“It’s a great network of people,” Morgan said of the city. “People here are happy to help without necessarily getting anything in return. We have people here who are genuinely invested in the overall success of businesses here in Birmingham and in seeing Birmingham continue to grow.” I think there are a lot of them.”
“There are people that answer the phone right away when you call them. You feel like they’re part of the team, even if it’s not formal. There are a lot of really, really successful people right there. You don’t have to go outside the city to get the expertise you need.”
In the future, Morgan hopes VirtuOwl can continue to improve its product, reach more districts and students, and expand its services.
“Our overall approach is that if a student is struggling with learning, we approach it from a mental health perspective first so that the student can learn all the other core subjects,” he said. Ta.
This story was previously published by This is Alabama.
