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K‑5 technology advisory committee urges clearer communication, granular filtering and training
Summary
A district committee of parents, teachers and principals recommended better transparency about filtering, more granular white‑list controls, prioritized teacher and substitute training, and clearer grade‑by‑grade expectations for device use after a May advisory meeting presented to the board.
SANDY, Utah — The Canyons School District’s elementary tech advisory committee told the school board Tuesday that parents and teachers want clearer communication about filtering and monitoring, more granular whitelisting options, better training for teachers and substitutes, and clearer, grade‑by‑grade expectations for technology use in kindergarten through fifth grade.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Robinson, who summarized the advisory committee work, said the committee included 10 parents, 11 teachers, four principals and other staff and that nine of the 10 parent participants lived in Draper, Cottonwood Heights or East Millcreek, a point the administration noted when discussing outreach and representation.
Committee recommendations included using ParentSquare and district websites for timely notices, making the source email address for filtering and monitoring notifications explicit so messages do not go to spam, and providing short bulleted updates when policy or filter changes occur. The committee strongly rejected changing the default parent notification for flagged searches to an opt‑out model. Members also asked the district to consider giving families an option to opt out of Chromebooks and asked that any after‑hours access limits include parental coordination for students who may need temporary access when traveling or sick.
On filtering and monitoring, the group asked for access to restricted content lists, clearer explanations of filtering logic, and consideration of whitelisting by site rather than by broad category. Teachers asked for premium YouTube embedding (to prevent ads) or other ways to embed videos without pop‑ups; administrators said patches were inconsistent and sometimes ads now appear when embedded.
Teachers asked for better, prioritized training on the district filter and monitoring tools and for access to search‑flag reports similar to parent reports; administrators said currently administration can access that information and provide it to teachers but the data are not always real time. The committee also discussed a three‑strike protocol for student misconduct flags; administrators said the district has a Levels of Behavior document that outlines potential consequences and that the district is working to clarify consistent communication protocols.
The committee debated whether to eliminate certain gamified instructional programs in K–2 and whether to make computers lab‑based rather than one‑to‑one for lower grades. Administrators noted that many of the instructional software purchases are funded by state grants (e.g., i‑Ready, Lexia) and are not simply discretionary local funds.
Committee members urged the district to actively engage Title I and other underserved communities before any district‑level decisions and recommended continuing the advisory work into secondary grades. Dr. Robinson said many of the committee recommendations are already in progress or under review and that the administration plans continued communication and follow up in the fall.
