Colonial School District outlines technology 'guardrails; Securly, Lexia and IXL shown to board

The Colonial School District's curriculum committee on May 11 presented a structured approach to classroom technology use, emphasizing that "technology supports our instruction, but it doesn't lead it," Dr. Brigaitis said during the committee's educational-technology update.

District leaders described guardrails and typical daily device-time ranges by grade: kindergarten through third grade about 20'0 minutes, grades 4—5 minutes, and middle and high school students two'and-a-half to three hours spread through the school day. The district said elementary devices will remain on campus and not go home.

Brianna D'Addazio, the district's K' instructional-technology teacher from Bridge Park, demonstrated Securly, a web-filtering and classroom-management platform that lets teachers set "access plans" (preapproved websites/apps), close student tabs, lock screens and receive daily class reports on minutes spent on Chromebooks. "You can close all student tabs upon opening the class session," D'Addazio said, and added teachers can get email reports that summarize Chromebook time for a session.

Officials stressed that screen-based tools are integrated into teacher-led instruction. Jen Ramsden, a reading specialist, described Lexia's three-part approach: placement, scaffolded digital practice and off-screen teacher-led instruction that is triggered when students need more support. The district showed how Lexia flags students for teacher follow-up and provides materials that pair screen activities with paper-and-pencil lessons.

At the elementary level math tools were framed as supplemental to Illustrative Math, the district's core curriculum. Presenters demonstrated IXL's alignment to standards and its reporting tools that allow teachers to monitor skill progress and pull small groups for targeted instruction.

Board members asked about Securly's real-time capabilities and district-level analytics. D'Addazio said teachers can monitor student screens in real time and lock individual screens; she does not personally have a whole-school analytics view but receives classroom reports. Administrators said the features available to teachers enable active monitoring and that central reports are being explored.

Parents who spoke during public comment praised the transparency but urged clearer, written policies on device expectations and indoor-recess restrictions, and asked for more visibility into YouTube use and Securly reporting. "I would love to have more visibility into my children's screen time using Securly," said parent Elise La Chapelle.

Administration said the items presented are operational practices rather than a new board policy; leaders recommended keeping broad policy language while developing administrative guidelines and procedures that can be updated as practices evolve.

The committee did not take a vote; administrators said they will continue refining practices, communicate changes to building principals and consider additional guidance for family access to information and updates to administrative procedures.