RESPONSIBLE USE POLICY

Morris Jeff Community School integrates digital technology to enhance personalized learning and the development of IB 21st century learners. We vary our use of digital resources to match the development and learning at each grade level.

In elementary school, PreK-1 students utilize tablets in centers for targeted instruction and practice.  2nd-5th grade students regularly use Chromebooks to access targeted ELA  and math lessons and practice, inquiry-based research, keyboarding skills, etc.

Middle and high school students are assigned a Chromebook to use in class and are responsible for its care, handling and storage at school. Individual teachers guide the use of a variety of digital tools to build independent and collaborative student-centered learning aligned to their IB units of inquiry.

Students in grades 2 and higher are issued accounts with G Suite for Education in order to access learning websites on Chromebooks with a school-issued username and self-selected password. Additionally, students take formative and summative assessments as well as progress monitoring tools on Chromebooks.

Students are held accountable for their actions with all digital technology in accordance with school rules and expectations. In the event that a student causes vandalism or damage to school property, the family will be financially responsible for the repair or replacement of  school property. Students and families must sign and adhere to the Responsible Use Policy. The use of devices and the Internet on the systems owned by and on the premises of Morris Jeff Community School is a privilege, not a right, and as such, there should be no expectation of privacy on the part of the student to the contents of personal files. The school will maintain control over materials on the system or contained in files on the system.

Student Responsibilities in Internet Usage:

Students are expected to communicate, collaborate and utilize our digital resources with the same IB values as in offline behavior and actions.

Caring Communication

• Students have a responsibility to use appropriate language when using the Internet or digital devices. The school will not tolerate a student’s use of profanity or obscenity on the Internet.
• A student must take responsibility for his or her own messages, actions and words online.
• Students have the responsibility to display exemplary online behavior, and must conduct themselves as representatives of both the school and the community as a whole.

Knowledgeable Collaboration

• Students must respect the rights of others in the digital community. Sending, storing or displaying offensive, vulgar, violent, abusive or inflammatory messages or images is prohibited. Personal attacks, threats or insults (cyberbullying) is forbidden.
• Students must recognize the privacy rights of others and refrain from re-posting personal messages and/or images without the original author’s prior consent.
• Students must report any suspicious activity noticed on their account(s) to a teacher immediately.  

Principled Integrity

• Students have the responsibility to follow copyright laws and rules, and must respect all copyright issues including but not limited to movies, music, images, books, and articles.
• Students must use the Internet only for legal activities. Trespassing in another user’s work, files or decrypting system or user passwords is unacceptable. Students may not engage in illegal activities, including but not limited to, tampering with systems or networks, unauthorized entry, or vandalism or destruction of files as well as any purpose that is prohibited by federal, state, local laws, rules or regulations.

Reflective Safety

• Students are responsible for avoiding the inadvertent spread of computer viruses. Deliberate attempts to disrupt system performance by spreading computer viruses is considered criminal activity under state and federal law. Additionally, students may not use any means to circumvent the school filtering systems.
• A student must accept full responsibility for usage of his or her account(s). Allowing another person to use your user ID /password to gain access to any school system is prohibited.

Student Responsibilities regarding School-issued Devices:

All devices used at school are the property of Morris Jeff Community School and remain at school. Students are expected to treat school issued devices with respect and care.

Care and Handling of Devices 

• Students are expected to ensure the serial number, barcode label and any device labels are securely attached to any school device.
• During  transitions, devices must be closed, carried with two hands or close to body, or in closed backpack.
• Students may not lean on or stack heavy items on top of devices.
• Students must  wipe them with a clean, damp cloth as needed and wash their own hands regularly while using devices.

Protection, Storage and Charging of Devices

• All devices must be returned to their cart of origin when not in use.
• All devices and carts must be plugged in at the end of day to charge overnight.
• Students must gain permission from teacher before using a device not assigned to them.

Student Responsibilities regarding E-mail Accounts:

For the safety of our students, school-issued accounts are monitored. Currently, our students in Grade 7 and higher are issued school email accounts for learning purposes only. School email accounts are designed for academic communication between students and teachers, and students are responsible to use them regularly.

Depending on the factors involved, a student’s failure to fulfill any of these responsibilities may result in school disciplinary action to include any of the following: restricted or loss of privileges, detention, conference with teacher/counselor/principal, parents contacted, out-of-school suspension, and possible contact with law enforcement.

Morris Jeff Community School has established measures to filter and/or block offensive material harmful for children. No filtering system is 100% effective. Student digital activity is monitored closely by administration. Additionally, teacher supervision and student responsibility are essential for online safety.