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Screen Guardians founder urges Park Hill to teach K–2 digital-wellness skills
Summary
Katie Longhouser told the Park Hill board that students need instruction on how digital platforms affect developing brains and asked the district to meet about piloting a research-based K–2 program.
Katie Longhouser, a former nurse and founder of the Screen Guardians program, spoke during public comment at the Park Hill Board of Education's June 25 meeting and urged the district to teach young children skills to manage screens and digital platforms.
Longhouser said adults currently focus on controls and restrictions — parental controls, time limits and device rules — but that children are not taught what devices do to attention and developing brains. "Education is the greatest form of protection," she said, arguing that simple, research-backed lessons about brain science, persuasive design and decision-making could help students regulate their own technology use and respond to harms when they occur.
She cited research-based statistics during her remarks, saying children ages 8 to 18 average about 7.5 hours of screen time per day and that teens who spend three or more hours on social media face higher risks of anxiety and depression; she also referenced a statement from the U.S. Surgeon General about youth mental-health concerns. Longhouser described the Screen Guardians pilot in Kansas and Texas that enrolled several hundred students and asked the board for a meeting to discuss what a pilot could look like in Park Hill.
Board members did not debate or provide an on-the-spot response beyond thanking the presenter; Longhouser's ask was recorded as a request for a follow-up meeting with district staff.
