White Salmon Schools

Internet Safety

District Takes Steps to Strengthen Internet Safety

Since the incident of last year involving inappropriate usage of the school's Internet, we have taken steps to increase the number of safeguards to protect our students and staff. We have developed partnerships with the FBI, Vancouver Police Department Children's Division, our local Educational Service District 112 Risk Management team and St. Bernard Software. Many of these steps were developed through this team effort.

Prior to this event we had many safeguards already in place including: Internet filtering, staff and student acceptable use policies, network management and staff monitoring of computer use. Our Internet filter is one of the leading filters on the market (http://www.stbernard.com). The filter monitors Internet use by blocking student and staff availability to inappropriate web sites. We keep our filter regularly updated to attempt to keep up with the constant change of Internet content. It is important to realize that a filter cannot provide a 100% guarantee but is one of the most effective ways of helping to protect all network users.

With this in mind we started this school year by having our staff, students and parents resign an Acceptable Use Policy. This policy was revised with district input to help clarify and provide a clear understanding of the educational purpose of our network. It also outlines that there will be consequences for inappropriate usage. We furthermore explain to our staff and students that our network is being internally monitored.

Hardware and software are only one part of the solution. The district believes responsible Internet use also requires an educational component at all grade levels. The risks to our safety, adults as well as children, is real in school and out. To this end we are providing an evening of Internet Safety for Parents. The Vancouver Police Department, who we worked with last year, will be offering a FREE Internet awareness class for parents on Monday, May 1, 2006, 7:00-9:00 pm at Columbia High School gymnasium. Topics to be covered include:

• Risks Online
• Internet 101
• Characteristics of an Online Victim
• Characteristics of an Online Predator
• Vancouver Police Department - True Crime/Case Examples
• from our area
• MySpace.com and other Blog Sites
• Cybersafety tips

This presentation includes graphic details concerning actual crimes and is intended for adults only.

In addition, on May 12, 2006, our administrative staff will be provided with an in-depth introduction to a nationally-recognized Cybersafety student training program - iSafe. The iSafe program has a grade-specific curriculum. From this introduction we will start incorporating age-appropriate Internet safety education into our classrooms. It is our belief that through education students become empowered with critical-thinking and decision-making skills they need to recognize and avoid hazards in cyberspace as well as how to appropriately respond to those hazards. The iSafe program is available to everyone and can be checked out at: http://www.iSafe.com.

The network is currently being monitored on a weekly basis for inappropriate Internet inquiries. Our network administrator has noticed a significant decline in attempts to reach inappropriate content. Our district believes that through frequent monitoring along with education we will be providing our community with the tools they need to become proactive prevention-oriented Internet users.

Please sign our guestbook

Efforts are made to ensure the information on this page is complete, current, and accurate. However, changes in programs and policies do occur. Questions about specific information on this site should be directed to the district office or to the appropriate school. Original materials on this page copyright White Salmon Valley School District, and may not be duplicated without permission. Please contact the webmaster for permissions, or with questions, problems, or suggestions regarding this page.