Community Update

This year, we are asking all of our families to partner with us in focusing on the wildly important: digital citizenship. Our goal is to equip our students with the skills they need to become thoughtful, empathetic digital citizens in an increasingly connected world. At our January 10th District Professional Development Day, all staff will engaged in a two-hour training in digital citizenship. In addition, all students will take part in digital citizenship lessons, including the Five Competencies of Digital Citizenship.

We need you! The deep work of digital citizenship will take all of our collective efforts to make an impact on the digital lives of our students.

I'd like to thank the commitment of our Technology Advisory Group, and the entire VUSD staff for engaging in this important work for our students.

To jumpstart your commitment, read this entire newsletter for everything you need to launch digital citizenship with your family!

Kerry Perez

VUSD Educational Technology Principal Lead

Monte Vista Elementary Principal

There is no better time than now to engage in digital citizenship conversations with your children. Here are 5 things you can do to make a difference!

• Attend a family webinar with media expert, Jon Moffatt on February 16th

  Flier for event in English

  Flier for event in Spanish

• Check out the Common Sense Media Tip Sheets (K-5 Tip Sheet English/Spanish, 6-12 Tip Sheet English/Spanish)
• Go to Common Sense Media website to access free resources, including movie, website, and app reviews.
• Create a Family Media Agreement with together with your family to set clear family expectations, boundaries, and support (Family Media Agreement English/Spanish)
• Commit to making digital citizenship a conversation with your family!

To jumpstart your commitment, read this entire newsletter for everything you need to launch digital citizenship with your family!

Along with districts and organizations across California, we have adopted the 5 Competencies of Digital Citizenship. All members of our organization, including students, staff, and families can develop healthy digital habits through the 5 competencies.

To promote digital discussions that are rooted in our district values of trust, respect, collaboration, equity, and kindness, we have adopted the "THINK" acronym.

Before you post online, THINK:

• Is it true?
• Is it helpful?
• Is it inspiring?
• Is it necessary?
• Is it kind?

Vista Unified will be hosting a technology awareness workshop via Zoom for parents on Thursday, February 16th from 6:00-7:30 pm. Technology expert Jon Moffat will guide parents through such questions as:

• How do I check privacy settings on my child’s profiles?

• How do I set up boundaries in the Digital World? How do I keep up?

• What are the latest tech trends in our community? What might my child be up to?

• Learn more about Instagram, Snapchat, Tiktok, Discord, Roblox, BeReal, and many more.

Mark your calendars and join us for this special parent workshop.

Flier for event in English

Flier for event in Spanish

Clickable links: (K-5 Tip Sheet English/Spanish, 6-12 Tip Sheet English/Spanish)

Create a Family Media Agreement with together with your family to set clear family expectations, boundaries, and support (Family Media Agreement English/Spanish)

Parenting in the digital world can be tough. We know many parents grapple with questions about media balance, use, and safety:

• My child is asking for a cell phone, what should I consider?
• Is my child ready to use social media?
• What tools are available to monitor my child's social media use?
• How can I determine if a certain movie, app, or video game is appropriate for my child?
• I'm concerned about cyberbullying. How can I keep my child safe?

Go to the Common Sense Media website to access free resources, including movie, website, and app reviews.

Sincerely,

Matt Doyle, Ed.D.

Superintendent of Schools

Vista Unified School District

Email: webmaster@vistausd.org
Website: vistausd.org
Location: 1234 Arcadia Avenue, Vista, CA, USA
Phone: (760) 726-2170
Twitter: @VistaBlueprint