BENTONVILLE -- Teachers should be encouraged to use social media in their classrooms but need better guidance on how to do so appropriately, Bentonville School District officials said this week.
A committee led by Paul Stolt, director of communications, met for the first time Sept. 8 to rewrite the district's social media policy, which is outdated, he said. Stolt presented a draft of the new policy at Monday's School Board meeting.
Committee members
The committee that has worked on revising the Bentonville School District’s social media policy includes:
• Paul Stolt, director of communications
• Eric Hipp, principal, Ruth Barker Middle School
• David Welsher, assistant principal, Ruth Barker Middle School
• Carolyn Sneed, counselor, Central Park Elementary School
• Kelly Davis, English teacher, Bentonville High School
Source: Bentonville School District
That proposed policy states social media, when used professionally and with positive intent, "facilitate sharing the narrative of each classroom, each campus and the school district, and connecting students with resources for learning."
It further explains employees are expected to "exercise good judgment" and their use of social media should align with current district policies, such as those on sexual harassment and bullying.
"We need to look at social media as an extension of ourselves," Stolt said.
New social media platforms and digital communication methods pop up all the time, making it impractical to try to address all potential concerns in the policy, Stolt said.
Separate from the policy, the district intends to develop a set of guidelines dealing with social media use.
Stolt's committee intends to survey students and staff members about their social media use before beginning to develop those guidelines, he said.
"We're trying to find out the extent of social media use, and what people think about use," Stolt said. "What is our level of knowledge of how social media works."
Joe Quinn, board member, said how the policy is written depends on some key information.
"You have to come to us with data about what teachers are doing today for us to make intelligent decisions on where the policy should go," Quinn said.
The board discussed the matter with administrators for nearly an hour Monday, with some board members arguing for a more detailed policy than what was presented.
"The more we include in a policy, the clearer it is for everyone to know what to expect," said Rebecca Powers, board member.
Powers recommended the board give special consideration to a model policy on social media use crafted by the Arkansas School Boards Association that is more detailed than the district's draft policy.
"I don't think our policy should be any less than that," Powers said.
The district's current policy on social media use was written four years ago. It is outdated, Stolt said.
"There are a variety of ways staff interact right now through multiple social media opportunities," said Michael Poore, superintendent. "What we try to do is ensure it's a professional way they're interacting. If they're not interacting in a professional way, then that's when, if we're notified, we're dealing with it."
But the district has a difficult time monitoring social media use by employees, Poore said.
Grant Lightle, board member, asked whether there could be students who are friends with one of their teachers on Facebook.
"It's possible that that could occur," Poore said.
Other districts Bentonville is looking at specifically forbid such relationships within their social media guidelines, Stolt said.
Poore said an employee's misuse of social media has led to disciplinary action fewer than five times since he became superintendent in 2011. Only once has it played a role in a termination request, he said.
Board discussion also veered toward how to get employees to keep separate their personal and professional social media accounts.
Lightle said teachers have a right to their private lives, including their own Facebook pages.
"But if you co-mingle it with your job, by letting kids access that same portal, you have no privacy," Lightle said. "Just like I have a work phone and my own personal phone. There's a good reason for that. I think we ought to create that same level of clarity for our staff."
"That's exactly what the guidelines are meant to do," Stolt said. "Set up that more clear demarcation between your personal and your professional (life)."
Poore also suggested the district should keep a register of social media pages used for professional purposes by staff members to disburse information to students or the community.
The Rogers School District has social media guidelines for staff members, but several policies regarding staff ethics and staff conduct apply to all forms of communication with students and their families, according to Ashley Siwiec, the district's director of communications.
The Rogers district's guidelines emphasize making social media communication "transparent, accessible and professional."
Rogers employees must fill out a social media account request form and obtain approval from a supervisor before establishing a professional, educational page or account for student groups to follow.
NW News on 10/09/2015