Resources for Families

Our students live in a digitally enhanced world, both in their social and learning spaces. Today’s kids have 24/7 access to people, information, and ideas with digital technologies. As parents, in partnership with educators, it’s our responsibility to help students stay safe and become constructive digital citizens while utilizing online resources. Empowering our learners in understanding the best ways to engage with others online in a safe and ethical way is critical.

In Green Bay Area Public Schools (GBAPS), we value the rich learning, innovative creation, and communication experiences that technology brings to our students, classrooms and families' lives.  To support student learning, each student is assigned a district issues device.  In accordance with district policy and federal law, student devices are monitored to ensure the well being and safety of all users.

Together, the district and families can assist students in learning appropriate ways to interact within a digital environment for learning and entertainment purposes.  We believe that with parents and guardians as our partners, we can help our students gain skills, understanding, and dispositions that will enable them to be responsible and safe in digital environments.

It is important that students have set guidelines and expectations when using devices.  Set guidelines and expectations to include screen time allowances and understanding of student data privacy.  Going beyond expectations and guidelines for children, parents too may set technology rules for themselves to model healthy use of technology.


Screen Time Considerations

Screen time is a great time for bonding with your child. Take interest in their online activities. Play online games or watch TV shows and movies together. Co-interacting with screens is a great way to stay connected to your child. When your child is using a device independently, consider the following screen time considerations:
  • Device location - Monitor the use of devices by creating a central location in your home for device usage. 
  • App usage - Be aware of the apps on your child’s device and who your child is interacting with through these apps. Not all apps are safe. Be aware of potentially dangerous apps
  • Device bedtimes - Turn off devices at least 30 minutes prior to bedtime. Create a common charging station where all devices can be charged during sleep hours.
  • Time limits - Set time limits for your children to interact with devices while at home. Utilize resources from the American Academy of Pediatrics to create a family media plan and calculate media time for individual family members.
Technology Suggestions for Guardians
As expectations are placed on student’s use of technology, it is also important for parents to model healthy use of technology in everyday environments.  
  • Be present and moderate use - Enjoy the moments you spend with your family in a screen free environment. Monitor and set boundaries of your technology use to fully engage in human interaction. It is okay to take a break from all the texts, notifications, games, and shows.
  •  Set expectations and model good digital behavior - Establish, enforce, and model the technology-related guidelines and expectations that you set for your children. Children learn from the behavior of adults. Model positive digital behavior by refraining from using your phone while driving, setting your phone aside while eating at the dinner table, or only placing positive posts on social media. Children will appreciate seeing you model positive use of technology.  
  •  Do not over share - Parents should never over share information about themselves or their children online. Have a conversation with your children about what you would like to post about them online. It is best to ensure there will not be any regrets years from now.  

Repair or Replacement of District Issued Devices

Should a district issued device need to be repaired or replaced based on misuse, a $20 fine will be applied for repair and a $50 fine will be applied for replacement of a device or screen. A $20 fine will be applied for a replacement charger.


Additional Resources
Curated resources from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and Common Sense Media include instructional resources for students and families as well as digital citizenship content to help keep students stay safe online. The District encourages all stakeholders to model positive online behavior. Policy 363.2 - Responsible, Acceptable, and Safe use of Technology Resources can be located here. (To view the policy, please visit BoardDocs and search for the policy.)


Website by SchoolMessenger Presence. © 2024 SchoolMessenger Corporation. All rights reserved.