Parents urge Barrington board to keep elementary iPads at school, strengthen filters

Multiple parents used the board's public comment period July 23 to ask the district to tighten technology rules for elementary students, citing safety and developmental concerns.

Lauren Hanson, a parent of three District 220 students, asked the board to "consider keeping school issued iPads at school" for elementary grades K'5. Hanson described incidents in which devices were used to AirDrop inappropriate content and, in one case she termed "extremely serious," a student showed explicit photos accessed from home. "When devices leave a supervised classroom and travel on school buses into after-school programs and homes," Hanson said, "we cannot control what is distributed and shown from others."

Heather Kieser urged policies that preserve foundational developmental skills, saying current device use can replace activities that build face-to-face social connection and fine motor coordination. Kieser requested two specific changes: leave elementary devices at school or in a dedicated computer lab, and measure and limit in-school screen time to teacher-led instruction. Victor Kolenko asked for grade-level guidelines and stronger web-filtering after his kindergartner reported another child on the bus showing a violent streaming show on a school-issued iPad.

Superintendent Dr. Winkelman acknowledged the comments and said the district is "listening"; the administration plans a public update at the start of school and will continue work this year on an intentional-technology initiative. The board and administration agreed to make the tech and innovation committee contact (Joe Robinson) more visible and to share communications to families before the start of school.