How Much Should Teachers, Students and Parents Interact Online?

Who can teachers "friend" on Facebook? How should school administrators regulate the use of blogs? Can teachers use Twitter and, if so, how?

Those are some of the questions that were discussed on Wednesday afternoon in a wide-ranging round table discussion held by the Melrose School Committee in the resource center, as the committee begins the process of crafting a social media policy for staff that would address how technology has shifted communication from one-way broadcasting by the schools to two-way communication and networking between school faculty and the public.

Besides the increasingly ubiquitous nature of social media in classrooms and schools, the issue arises now in large part because social media and networking tools, such as Twitter and blogs, are already being used to one degree or another by some Melrose faculty.

Four Melrose principals who attended the discussion said that they use Twitter, mainly for professional development and connecting with other educators, not for broadcasting information for parents or students.

Those same principals also maintain their own blogs, which effectively supplant the traditional school newsletter that goes home in backpacks and provide principals the opportunity to share with parents quick snapshots of what's happening in their children's classrooms. Also, some classroom teachers maintain their own class blogs.

Kristin Thorp, chairwoman of the School Committee's Policy and Planning Subcommittee, said that the policy would support the use of these new tools by school district employees, while making sure they don't run afoul of privacy statutes, the state's Open Meeting Law, or any other applicable laws. For instance: Do the schools have access to the principals' blogs, which may constitute a school-based document and be subject to public records laws and the like?

"I told the principals, I want to support what they’re doing," she said, adding that the policy has to say to those principals, "'if something happens, the district has my back. This is a fully supported activity.' And right now they're doing it by themselves, because we haven’t said anything."

Outbound communication, boundaries and best practices

After a bit of conversation, Andy Freed, a parent volunteer and communications professional who worked on the district's Working Group, said he heard the discussion coalescing around three themes: outbound communication, such as the district's ConnectEd phone message system; boundaries of social interaction; and best practices, which bridge the gap between the as-yet unwritten policy and the question of boundaries.

For instance, committee member Carrie Kourkoumelis raised the question of boundaries when she spoke about Melrose School faculty members who live in the city and may be linked socially to parents, children or siblings. Perhaps they're Facebook friends, or grew up knowing one another, and then one began working for the school district.

"It's difficult if they’ve been friends forever and ever—now, what? We're not friends anymore?" Kourkoumelis said. "It becomes sticky in a small town where faculty and staff are linking, with parents especially."

Thorp acknowledged Kourkoumelis' point, saying that the policy "shouldn’t be so restrictive that it doesn’t allow friendships that exist out of school."

Principal Jeff Strasnick said he had direct experience with that issue, as a Melrose resident who then became principal of a Melrose school. Erring on the side of caution, he decided to make "my own policy" and canceled his Facebook account before starting it over again, this time not linking with Melrosians he knew.

"It doesn’t mean we’re not friends," Strasnick said. "It just means we’re not communicating on Facebook."

Regarding outbound communication, Committee Chairwoman Margaret Driscoll said in preparing for the discussion, she realized "how little I actually knew" about social media, as she started brainstorming with ConnectEd before realizing that was a one-way communication tool and "not really social media." She added that it would be useful for the committee to define social media versus communication tools.

"Which is why I keep saying that it might not be called a 'social media policy," Thorp responded, adding that Google Plus didn't exist six months ago and that trying to craft a policy that addresses each technology or tool would be like herding cats and ultimately unsuccessful.

Instead, Thorp said the policy should provide overarching guidelines, with the superintendent able to write procedures that fit the policy and address particular technologies, tools or situations.

Nevermind computers—what about phones?

While social media tools are growing in popularity, cell phones are already popular—and the potential problems that could arise from students and faculty members speaking on personal cell phones took up a large chunk of the discussion.

As an example, Thorp posed a hypothetical policy that prohibits teachers sharing their cellphone numbers with students—but what about on a field trip when the teacher and students need to communicate?

"How do you draw lines that still have exceptions?" she asked.

Superintendent Joe Casey said that various procedures could be considered, from one faculty member being the designated person to contact via cellphone in a field trip situation, or the district purchasing a temporary phone given to faculty members who travel abroad with students.

"You want to track and make sure you don’t have any problems not only where it’s calling, but who it’s receiving calls from," Casey said.

Isabella O'Connell, a Melrose High School freshman, said that the useful of cellphones isn't limited beyond the school walls. She works after school with teachers in the TV studio and filming, and said that cellphones are important part of communicating with faculty during that after school work.

"It’s convenient for me to be able to call teachers on their cell phones after school hours just because I’m doing things here at MHS after school hours," O'Connell said.

Melrose High School Librarian Barbara Lichtman added that there are "teachers every day who travel with students," such as within the athletic department.