Austin elementary schools recognized as Common Sense Schools

Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of media and technology, has recognized Austin’s Banfield, Neveln, Southgate, and Sumner Elementary Schools as Common Sense Schools.

Liz Kline, Vice President of Education Programs at Common Sense Education stated that Austin’s elementary schools have demonstrated their commitment to taking a whole-community approach to preparing their students to think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate while preparing them for the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying.

With the right support, Kline stated that kids can take ownership of their digital lives, engage with real issues, and change their communities for the better.  She went on to say that the recognition acknowledges Austin Public School’s commitment to creating a culture of digital citizenship.

The schools have been using Common Sense Education’s innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with researchers from Project Zero, led by Howard Gardner at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and are grounded in the real issues students and teachers face. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, media balance, managing online relationships, and media literacy. The free K–12 curriculum is used in classrooms across all 50 states, in more than 80,000 schools by more than 1,00,000 educators.

District officials noted that Austin Technology Integrationists Josh McRae and Jer Osgood were instrumental in helping achieve this incredible honor.