Friday, September 11, 2015

When parents model poor social media behavior

Our school is now a 1:1 Chromebook school. It is so exciting to kick off the year knowing that access to technology is no longer an issue for any of our students at school or at home.  We required every student to attend an information/distribution meeting with a parent to ensure that we sent a clear message about appropriate use and care of the Chromebooks.  Part of the presentation was on digital citizenship.  We sent a clear message about thinking carefully before posting photos, videos, or comments on any social media sites and we continue to reinforce the message regularly.  Students appeared to get it and parents were seen nodding in agreement.

Interestingly, it has been parents, not students who have exhibited poor etiquette when it comes to social media.  We have a few (very few) parents who have the pattern of posting complaints about the school on Facebook.  Others then comment on their post. This is such poor modeling that it is, I'll admit, exasperating to me.  Here was my weekly email to parents to address this concern:

Good Afternoon CPS Parents/Guardians,

Welcome back to what we hope will be another wonderful year at CPS.  Each Thursday throughout the school year I will send out an email with updates of all things CPS.  Please be sure to share this with your friends who also have children at CPS and ask them to notify us if they are not receiving these email updates.

The start of the year has been exciting for us at the middle school.  Last week, the teachers had four days of professional development activities culminating in a full day workshop with Dave Burgess, author of Teach Like a Pirate.  Dave inspired our faculty with his inspirational keynote address.  He then worked with the CPS faculty sharing strategies to hook student interest and keep them engaged. We hope to tap into his amazing energy and work to expand our instructional strategies as we strive to continuously improve.

Following the long weekend, we welcomed 333 students to the middle school.  As you know, every student now has a Chromebook to use.  Students and teachers are excited about this access to technology that we have not had in the past.  If you have not yet read the 1:1 handbook, please do so.

On Friday we will have summer reading book groups to kick off the day.  Everyone read the book Wonder.  If you have an opportunity to read the book, I highly recommend it.  You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you will come away with the amazing takeaway to “choose kind.”  This book will be revisited throughout the year as we encourage students to treat everyone with kindness.  Read the book; you will love it!

With the combination of the 1:1 Chromebook initiative and everyone reading Wonder, there is a clear connection to digital citizenship.  As many of you heard me say at the Chromebook distribution meetings, we need our students to be educated on how to appropriately use technology and social media.  I encourage you to check your child’s Chromebook and their cell phone regularly and randomly.  Over the summer we have heard about inappropriate Instagram posts and Snapchat messages.  Please remind students to “choose kind” and avoid some of the mean spirited pictures, videos and comments that have been shared in the past.  As adults, we need to model this.  Too frequently I am being alerted to Facebook posts by parents who are complaining about school supplies or the school lockers, for example.  While you may have legitimate concerns or even complaints about our school, Facebook is not an appropriate forum.  Please call me or make an appointment to meet with me to discuss your concerns rather than post your frustration on Facebook.  I appreciate your consideration of this.

Let me briefly address the two concerns posted on Facebook recently.  We do anticipate that the school supply lists will be reduced in the future now that we are 1:1 Chromebooks.  In this first year, teachers did not make changes to the supply lists until they have had an opportunity to experience teaching in a 1:1 environment.  Due to the student population continuing to grow, we have run out of lockers.  We are working on a solution and we ask for patience.  Again, moving forward, if you have any questions, concerns, or even complaints, please know that I am always open to discussing any issue.  We truly are striving to make CPS the best it can be, one step at a time.

We are off to a terrific start despite the heat and humidity we have been experiencing this week.  I encourage you to stay informed, get involved, and team up with us to ensure every child’s academic and social success in middle school.  I look forward to seeing many of you at our first principal’s coffee next week.

Have a great weekend and welcome to the 2015-2016 CPS school year.


Students succeed when the adults at school and home work together.  I am hopeful that this trend of airing grievances on social media will stop and that parents will instead model more positive conflict resolution strategies like having a conversation with the school prior to ranting on Facebook.

What strategies have you used to combat this issue?  

Fortunately, we have a wonderful school and amazing parent community.  The actions of the few in this case do not represent the majority here.  

So, let's "choose kind" and model positive online behavior for our students.