Digital Safety in SRVUSD
Ilana Israel Samuels |  Apr. 14, 2023 

We teach kids how to cross the street safely. We teach kids how to ride a bike safely. We teach kids how to drive safely. But do we spend enough time teaching kids about digital safety? In SRVUSD, we have always prioritized digital citizenship, but recently we have been ramping up efforts to make sure that every single student knows how to explore the online world in a safe and responsible manner.

The nature of learning has changed significantly in the last few years. New technology is an integral piece of our Strategic Directions as a tool to complement and enhance Deep Learning and Innovation. “When students learn deeply they are engaged, eager to gain understanding, and able to draw connections within a wide variety of topics across the curriculum,” said Executive Director of Elementary Instruction, Nadine Rosenzweig. Teachers in SRVUSD are showing that they can improve learning not only in terms of the engagement with and the effectiveness of teaching within the principles of deep learning, but also always focused on the goal of ultimately ensuring all students thrive. “A key part of this coming to reality in our classrooms,” said Nadine, “is the technology that students have access to in and out of the classroom.”

With this technology comes a responsibility for online safety and digital citizenship that SRVUSD prioritizes. Director of Technology, Kelly Hilton, and her team, recently compiled additional student digital security resources available to all parents and caregivers on our website. “Not only do we want to safeguard students when they are using devices and the internet at school,” said Kelly, “but we also know it’s imperative to provide the tools to our parents and caregivers to keep their students safe online and in their social media usage.”

For the past two years SRVUSD has partnered with the SRVCPTA to bring cyber safety workshops to parents, put on by the Contra Costa DA’s Office and the Silicon Valley Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce. SRVUSD also partners with this team of experts, which includes Darryl Holcombe, a Special Investigator with the DA’s Office, and ADA Paul Graves, to bring age appropriate cyber safety events to students in grades 4-12. SRVUSD is incredibly fortunate to have these partners and resources to teach parents and students how to be safe online.

At the end of the day, the internet can be a complicated and confusing place for students. We encourage our caring parent community to keep the lines of communication open with their students and have conversations about digital safety early and often. We teach and expect our kids to cross streets safely, ride bikes safely, and drive safely; it is imperative that we dedicate that same time, attention and seriousness to online safety as well. We thank all of our parents and caregivers for partnering with us to make sure every student is safe in the digital world.