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Children’s Cove reports digital‑safety outreach to 1,200 students and expanded school partnerships
Summary
Children’s Cove told Barnstable County commissioners it ran digital‑mindfulness and online‑safety sessions for more than 1,200 third‑ to eighth‑grade students in Mashpee and Monomoy districts in April and mobilized teen peer‑educators and parent forums as part of Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Jacob Stapleton, program manager for Children’s Cove, presented the county with an April report on child‑abuse prevention and community education, highlighting digital‑safety work that reached more than 1,200 students in Monomoy and Mashpee schools.
Stapleton said the program partnered with Richard Geary of the Institute for Responsible Online and Cell Phone Communication to deliver interactive “digital mindfulness” and online‑safety presentations to students from third through eighth grades, and separately to parents and caregivers. He said polling during the sessions found more than half of third and fourth graders already knew about and engaged with artificial intelligence, and that more than half of students who played online games reported having had at least one negative or risky online experience.
Children’s Cove also deployed teen task‑force leaders to speak to younger students in their own districts and held tabling and presentations to community groups, the Girl Scouts and at a regional human‑trafficking conference. Stapleton described plans to expand school partnerships and add more parent‑education forums and youth presentations this fall.
Commissioners praised the outreach and urged ongoing collaboration between Children’s Cove, school districts and county officials. "By being able to do so in a way which is not harmful but supportive, that was overwhelmingly supportive and eye‑opening for many of the teachers and administrators," Stapleton said.
The presentation emphasized prevention and awareness across age groups, and the program requested continuing county support and collaboration on future outreach.
