Electronic Communication Policy

Purpose

In order to maintain clarity regarding our use of electronic modes of communication during your educational supports, we have prepared the following policy. This is because the use of various types of electronic communications is common in our society, and many individuals believe this is the preferred method of communication with others, whether their relationships are social or professional. Many of these common modes of communication, however, put your privacy at risk and can be inconsistent with the law and with the standards of my profession. Consequently, this policy has been prepared to assure the security and confidentiality of your counseling support and to assure that it is consistent with ethics and the law.

If you have any questions about this policy, please feel free to discuss this with one of the Sandusky Middle School Counselors.

E-mail Communications

We use e-mail communication and text messaging only with your permission and only for administrative purposes unless we have made another agreement. That means that e-mail exchanges and text messages with the SMS Counseling Office should be limited to things like setting and changing appointments, providing basic information to address in the next meeting and other related issues.  Please do not e-mail us for individual counseling because e-mail is not a secure way to communicate. If you need to discuss a counseling matter with one of the counselors, please feel free to call us so we can discuss it on the phone or wait so we can discuss it during your counseling session. The telephone or face-to-face context simply is much more secure as a mode of communication. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, utilizing our Google Voice numbers or scheduling Zoom meetings are the preferred method of communication, but have limitations of confidentiality.

Telephone/Cell Phone Communications

We utilize our office phone lines and Google Voice for Telephone Communications. We primarily utilize our Google Voice cell phone numbers to hold conference calls or provide check-ins with students and their families. We only respond to these lines during the hours of 7:40am-3:25pm and if we are in a location that will keep your information private. If you choose to leave a voicemail we will respond during the next business day. Please remember that communication by cell phone is not as secure as utilizing a land line.

Text Messaging

We do use text messaging through our Google Voice numbers to communicate with parents and students during the hours of 7:40am-3:25pm on school days. Outside of these hours we do not respond to text messages, but will review the text message during the next business day. Please be aware that texting is not a secure mode of communication and we will not utilize texting to provide counseling services to protect your privacy. If you have an emergency and prefer text messaging, please utilize the Crisis Text Line and Text “4Hope” to 741741, call the local Hotline at 1-800-826-1306, or in clear and present danger to yourself or others call 9-1-1.

Social Media

We do not communicate with, or contact, any of our students through social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.  In addition, if we discover that we have accidentally established an online relationship with you, we will cancel that relationship.  This is because these types of casual social contacts can create significant security risks for you.

We may participate on various social networks, but not in a professional capacity. If you have an online presence, there is a possibility that you may encounter us by accident. If that occurs, please discuss it with your counselor during the next time together.  We believe that any communications with students online have a high potential to compromise the professional relationship. In addition, please do not try to contact us in this way. We will not respond and will terminate any online contact no matter how accidental.

Sandusky Middle School counselors do operate an Instagram and Twitter, but this is to be used for providing positive information and events that are happening within the school and not to communicate individually with students.

Websites

Our basic contact information and school information is available on the Sandusky City Schools website or the SMS Counselor Corner webpage. We operate this Google Site to provide information to students or families. With recent COVID-19 Developments, Zoom Meetings may also be utilized, but there are limitations in confidentiality in utilizing this technology. Neither counselor operates any other site.

Web Searches

We will not use web searches to gather information about you without your permission. We believe that this violates your privacy rights; however, we understand that you might choose to gather information about us in this way. In this day and age there is an incredible amount of information available about individuals on the internet, much of which may actually be known to that person and some of which may be inaccurate or unknown. If you encounter any information about one of us through web searches, or in any other fashion for that matter, please discuss this with that counselor during our time together so that we can deal with it and its potential impact on your counseling.