District Administration - July/August 2011 - (Page 33)

Boards of Education’s Vincent Mustaro, senior staff associate for policy services, also points to the recent online foibles of the former superintendent at the Windsor Locks (Conn.) Public Schools. Shortly after being appointed in the summer of 2010, he noted on Facebook that he had “slept in” until 10 a.m. on his first day on the job. He also used his Facebook page to publicly dress down a principal he intended to evaluate. “It left a sour taste in the mouths of his community,” Mustaro observes, adding that the superintendent was forced out this past May. “We try to impress on folks not to post anything you wouldn’t want on the front page of The New York Times.” New Policies Aside from imparting good advice, Mustaro and other educational leaders stress the importance of clearly stated acceptable use policies, updated to include the advantages and problems inherent to social media sites. Along those lines, Mustaro has crafted four sample policies for school boards around the state of Connecticut, ranging from completely banning social media sites to progressively allowing them. “Clearly the policy has to include what the board considers unacceptable,” he says, which may include prohibiting the use of social media for buying and selling online, releasing identifiable information about students, harassing other students or teachers, and—for many districts—teachers and students “friending” each other on Facebook, which can allow them to have a private, online correspondence. Mustaro recommends against friending students. “That’s what hits the front pages again and again,” he warns. “School boards are extremely sensitive about not wanting to get into that situation.” Besides Weymouth, Mass., policies banning student-teacher friending are already in place in districts in Salt Lake City and Chicago, and the Virginia Board of Education is considering a statewide ban. This past spring the Weld RE-4 District adopted a new acceptable use policy, largely crafted by technology director Timmons and focused on “the use of social media for school-related purposes.” The policy begins, “The Board acknowledges that social media have become important means of communication with potential pedagogical value if used appropriately.” What follows are clear guidelines for teachers seeking to use social media in the classroom. They include getting a principal or supervisor’s approval, how to manage security, and identifying what standards social networking will address and how it enhances what’s being taught. Google Docs is already approved for use in middle and high school. “The teacher now does the diligent research to make sure it’s a safe place to go and students aren’t identifying themselves with information that could be used by a predator,” Timmons says. He stresses that teachers are also responsible for monitoring all student postings and removing inappropriate content. Timmons adds that the right kind of social networking belongs in the required curriculum. “If we let students get all the way through high school without responsibly being able to use these tools,” he says, “we’re doing them a disservice.” DA Ron Schachter is a contributing writer to District Administration. www.DistrictAdministration.com July/August 2011 33 http://www.skyward.com/one http://www.skyward.com/one http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - July/August 2011

District Administration - July/August 2011
Contents
From the Editor
News Update
Facilities News
Inside the Law
District Profile
Administrator Profile
The Social Media Dilemma
Is Year-Round Schooling on Track?
After 50 Years, Ethnic Studies Still Controversial
Finding the Right Purchasing Solution
Look, Listen, Learn
Research Center
Supervisor’s Opinion
Going Mobile
Superintendent’s Insight
Books
Product Focus
New Products
Online Edge

District Administration - July/August 2011