Schools

Parents Learn About Cyber-Bullying and Internet Safety

Canton Public Schools offered a second workshop for parents to learn about these issues.

Canton wants parents to get schooled on . Canton Public Schools held an open workshop on Wednesday for parents on the topic in order to make parents and guardians aware of the dangers that spring up along with the growing technology.

The issues of internet safety and cyber-bullying are "really important, not just because the information and message is important to get out, but it also galvanizes the idea" that there is a larger community of support out there, Superintendent of Canton Public Schools said.

Teachers, parents and students all need to work together, Granatino said. "Without all three working together, it is hard to keep kids educated and keep kids safe." With something so large, like internet safety, it is important to have all three involved, he said.

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Under the state's new bullying prevention law, the district's Anti-Bullying Task Force was created in the spring of 2010 and has been working on the district-wide action plan. The task force has already updated all the student handbooks to include the Bullying Prevention and Intervention Policy in age-appropriate terms and is developing an internet safety plan, prevention resources for special education, adding in professional development for staff and working on anti-bullying education for students.

Wednesday's workshop, which attracted about 80 parents, was the second one hosted by the Anti-Bullying Task Force. The first was held in December 2010 and had about 120 parents in attendance.

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Pete Boucher, the K-12 Director of Wellness for , spoke to parents at the event.

"I think we just want to get the word out," Boucher, a Canton resident and parent, said. "We want to raise awareness."

Boucher also stressed the significance of schools, parents and students all working together to tackle these issues. The goal of the program is to make it "unacceptable to bully in any way, shape, or form in Canton," he said. "A united front will allow this to happen."

Whether a parent is monitoring the playground or a sports event, the schools need families to pitch in to prevent bullying during non-school hours, he added.

The schools have been hosting workshops on these topics for the past three years, according to Boucher, and plans to host another one or two additional workshops this spring.Β 

In terms of keeping kids safe while they are online, Officer Chip Yeaton, a juvenile detective with the Canton Police Department and a member of the statewide task force on internet safety, gave some tips. Do not share passwords, do not believe that anything online is private and know that if your information is on the internet, personal details can be easily found.

Boucher said many parents want to know what they can do to keep their children safe on the internet. Folks were shocked at how easy it is to find out a child's personal information online, he said. Any tech-savvy person or predator can gain access to that information when it is online, he noted.Β 

"It is an eye opener on how easy it is to pinpoint a child and come in contact with them" just from looking on their Facebook or MySpace page, Boucher said. "It's very scary."

The most important message for parents is to "be vigilant," and know what kids are doing on their computers, cell phones and other devices, Boucher said.

For more information, read the Anti-bullying plan online at: www.cantonma.org/bullymodelplanacdc.pdf


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