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District to offer parent web filter app Custodio; rollout begins March 17
Summary
St. Helens technology director presented Linewize and Custodio — a parent‑focused companion app that lets guardians monitor school devices and, optionally, one home device per student. District messaging and Custodio enrollment are scheduled to begin March 17, with follow‑up webinars and weekly parent insights planned.
The St. Helens School District plans to offer parents a companion app, Custodio, that lets guardians view and manage school‑issued device activity and optionally install a free license for a single personal device per student. Director of Technology Ed Leader described the Linewize suite used by the district — web filtering, teacher monitoring tools and a Monitor product that flags risky online behaviors — and said Custodio will give parents direct visibility into their children’s school‑issued Chromebook activity and allow parents to pause or restrict sites after school hours.
Ed Leader told the board the district will send an introductory message via ParentSquare on Monday, March 17, followed by Custodio’s enrollment emails and reminders. He said parents can sign up using the email the district has on file; the district has linked student records to parent contacts for the sign‑up flow. Custodio’s features include the ability to pause the Internet for devices, view weekly parent insights about student activity, and receive expert‑advice content via an online safety hub with articles and videos. The district intends to offer a live webinar for parents in April.
The district will provide one free Custodio license per student for a parent’s personal device; Ed Leader said the vendor provides parent support and the district will only need to intervene if a parent’s email address on file needs to be corrected. He noted the product supports both Chromebooks and Windows lab devices used by the district. Leader said a Spanish language option is expected from the vendor in a future release, and that the online‑safety materials translate via common browser tools now.
Why this matters: The tool gives parents more control and visibility over students’ online activity on district devices and supports the district’s obligation to mitigate online safety risks. The rollout centralizes parental engagement and offers a single‑license option for each student’s family to extend monitoring to a home device.
Board questions and details: Trustees asked about the online safety hub (articles and videos, not a live chat) and about email and communication workflows for parents and students. The district confirmed secondary students retain email access with certain tiered restrictions for younger grades.
Next steps: District messaging on ParentSquare is scheduled for March 17; Custodio will send follow up enrollment emails and weekly parent insights starting later in March and April. District staff will coordinate webinar dates and provide sign‑up support for families.
Ending: The district said the vendor will handle most parent support and that the rollout will give parents a new tool to partner with schools on student online safety.
