Questions to ask your child's school about online safety: The School Alliance Blueprint
Do you know what your child's school is doing to keep them safe online?
This is an important topic, one most parents don't even ask, because they assume they know. It's not until something bad happens online and parents start to find out all the ways their child was in danger that they realize, the school could have done more to prevent it.
Common reactions are:
I thought schools were filtering the bad websites so kids couldn't see them
I thought they were trained to prevent things like this from happening.
I thought they would know how to handle it if something did happen.
I thought they would let me know when something happened and be a better resource to support me and my child during and after the event.
There is no one who cares more about your child's safety than you. You need to make sure you understand what the school is doing (or not) so you can advocate for your child's safety.
Our School Alliance Blueprint will help you ask your child's school the right questions.
You'll know they are doing everything they can to protect your child. Your child's safety is too important to just assume schools are doing their job. Ask!
When you ask these questions, you'll be working with the school administrators at your child's school, sharing vital cyber safety information with each other.
The School Alliance Blueprint helps you ask your child's school the right questions so you'll know they are a solid partner in online safety. (And if they don't have answers--they need our help! Feel free to let them know that the Center for Online Safety works with schools to strengthen relationships with parents and keep kids safe online. In fact, we have a powerful course just for them called Mitigating Risk by Strengthening Parent Partnerships where they learn the five key elements in allying with parents to keep kids safe online.)
The questions to ask your child’s school fall into five categories:
Monitoring student behavior
What app is the school using to monitor student behavior online?
What app is the school using to help teachers minimize student distraction when learning virtually?
Filtering the internet
Which devices are filtered?
What hours?
Which locations (home/school)?
Identifying school apps and tools (EdTech)
Which apps will your child use this semester?
How are they vetted?
Guarding privacy
How do they keep your child's information private?How do the apps and platforms they are using guarantee privacy?
Educating students, parents and staff and sharing information
What do they teach students about digital wellness/digital citizenship?
What do they teach parents and staff about online safety?
What are their AUPs (acceptable use policies) for the internet, network and devices?
You can't do this alone.
We all play a role in making kids safer online - schools, other youth organizations, parents, educators, community leaders, coaches, pediatricians, technology companies.
