During the school closure, most of our students are participating in some online activities as part of their distance learning. We continue to stay apprised of how to protect them from “zoombomers” — mischief makers who try to break into online meetings and share inappropriate content.

Safety and learning have always been our top priorities, whether online or not. We want to let our families know the steps we have taken to assure a safe learning environment for students, staff and families.

For lessons that involve online learning, our teachers are using Google classroom, SeeSaw, and Zoom. We are continuing with Zoom.com because of the recent updates to its software: adding a password requirement, providing an automatic “waiting room” feature for teachers to allow students entry to the virtual classroom, and numerous other upgrades.

We have provided teachers with updated best practices to maximize student safety while using district-vetted programs and platforms, and our district-issued devices have extra security tools that alert us to inappropriate or unsafe content being used on them.

Our staff has investigated options and worked hard to provide all students with the opportunity to participate safely in online activities as part of their distance learning. We will continue to diligently monitor and update these precautions as necessary to maintain online safety, and are poised to respond and adjust if needed.