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District presenter links social‑emotional learning to digital literacy as schools prepare smartphone policy
Summary
At a Belmont‑Redwood Shores Elementary parent webinar, a district staff member described how social‑emotional learning (SEL) curricula, monitoring tools and a new California law are shaping plans for a districtwide smartphone policy to take effect no later than July 2026.
A district staff member outlined how social‑emotional learning lessons and school monitoring tools fit into a broader push on digital literacy and smartphone limits during a parent webinar hosted by Belmont‑Redwood Shores Elementary.
The presenter said the district teaches SEL skills to help students “think before you post,” and described two adopted curricula: Second Step for transitional kindergarten through second grade and Wayfinder for grades three through eight. She framed digital literacy as “another environment in which we want our students to know how to be safe and how to recognize any potential unsafe areas,” and said SEL lessons include exercises about a student’s “digital footprint” and a five‑question “think” protocol (Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind?).
The webinar also addressed a recent California law. The presenter cited Assembly Bill 3216 and said the law “gave schools until July of 2026 to come up with a board policy limiting the use of cell phones, but particularly smartphones in schools for kids,” and described the district’s plan to gather parent and student input before recommending a single district policy to the superintendent and school board.
She described classroom‑level safeguards already in place: GoGuardian, which teachers use to view and filter students’ Chromebook activity; Bark, which sends alerts to site principals when automated scanning detects profanity, threats, suicidal ideation or other flagged content; and Stop It, an anonymous reporting tool provided to all county districts by the San Mateo County Office of Education. The presenter said Bark alerts are intended to help principals catch inappropriate use of school devices and follow up with students.
Parents used the webinar Q&A to ask about when students begin regular Chromebook use, whether parental control software can be loaded onto school devices and whether schools use phone lockers. The presenter said Chromebooks are used more frequently beginning around third grade, that she would consult the director of technology about parental‑control software, and that most school sites already have cell‑phone policies restricting daytime phone use. She also described examples at nearby districts where “Yonder” pouches or classroom phone lockers have been used to keep phones stowed during instruction.
No formal board action or vote occurred during the session. The presenter said the district intends to solicit further parent and student feedback at additional sessions and to propose a uniform board policy by July 2026, but she did not identify a specific draft policy or final timetable for a board vote.
The session included multiple parent questions and a roughly 60‑minute presentation and Q&A. The presenter recorded the webinar for later distribution.
