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Parent urges North Allegheny board to strengthen digital citizenship education and family resources
Summary
A parent urged the North Allegheny School Board to adopt a districtwide digital citizenship curriculum, improve visibility of family resources and build stronger home-school partnerships to address online safety, privacy and mental-health concerns.
Stephanie Hinton, a parent of students at Franklin Elementary School who said she works in the financial industry on issues related to cyber-enabled crime, urged the North Allegheny School Board on Oct. 29 to strengthen the district's digital citizenship program.
Hinton told the board that technology shapes how students learn and interact and that schools are uniquely positioned to provide consistent, vetted guidance. She recommended three near-term steps: adopt a districtwide curriculum (she highlighted Common Sense Education's digital citizenship materials), make family resources easier to find on the district website, and deepen partnerships with parents so classroom lessons are reinforced at home.
Citing national research, Hinton said "80% of parents thought the harms of social media outweigh the benefits, and 86% of parents are managing their child's screen time as a daily priority," and she described local efforts such as the Pittsburgh Youth Mental Health Alliance's programming and an "Unschool Your Life" presentation she attended. She said districts that adopt comprehensive digital citizenship instruction have seen fewer online incidents and stronger student skills in navigating issues such as bullying and unsolicited contact.
Hinton recommended adopting Common Sense Education's curriculum because it is widely used, free for schools, and includes age-appropriate lessons and family engagement materials. She also suggested the district model its web resources on examples such as Fairfax County Public Schools, which she described as having a comprehensive family-facing site. Hinton closed by urging the board to make the program "more visible, more impactful, preparing our students to live lead in the digital world of confidence." (speaker remark as delivered)
Board members thanked her and invited her to provide written materials for staff review.
