We picked this theme for the month of September very intentionally. As students are beginning, or re-beginning, their use of online resources and tools, the opportunity to remind them of their right to access these things is very important. It is equally important to teach them the need to secure these resources from potential use by others.

We hope to help students (and staff) realize the importance of using strong passwords as well as the wisdom in routinely changing them. Especially for older students, we want students and staff to learn when to be suspicious of a scam or scheme and how to handle those situations. And in some cases especially with older students, it would be very informative for students to look at some systems' "Privacy Policies" and what those say and mean.

Again, especially with older students who may be accessing confidential/sensitive information (education records, banking, college applications, etc) but also with all staff who may not only be accessing information about themselves but also about others (re: students), it is REALLY important to be sure to access these things in ways that others cannot or will not watch. And it is important that explicit effort is exerted to "exit" these systems before walking away.

Obviously, there is a phased-in approach here across the grade levels. However, maintaining privacy of information and learning how to secure accounts from others are important.