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Date: 11/3/2021
SPRINGFIELD – Schools’ increased reliance on technological devices has brought its own share of concerns, with the Springfield School Committee discussing technology awareness during their Oct. 28 meeting.
Chief Information and Accountability Officer for Springfield Public Schools Paul Foster discussed the district’s new policies on cyber security programs. “It really defines for the district how we store, protect and dispose of sensitive data and information,” said Foster. He explained that this policy is coming into place after Springfield schools experienced a malware cyberattack during the last school year. The item was approved unanimously by the School Committee.
Foster also presented replacement policies for the student and staff acceptable use and data security policy. “This policy governs what students can and can’t do when using computers, we provide them with, accounts we provide them and using the internet we provide in our schools,” said Foster. The information officer worked alongside School Committee At-Large member LaTonia Naylor during a Technology Subcommittee meeting to construct effective policies.
Naylor stressed the importance of policing student behavior when using district-owned technology. “We had a very good conversation about the inappropriate behavior. We want to make it very clear for folks what the expectations are,” said Naylor. After At-Large Councilor Denise Hurst addressed the need for creating approachable policy for students to comprehend, Foster revealed that the district now employs a computer science teacher in every building to reinforce digital literacy.
“It goes well beyond this policy to enforce safe practices online,” said Foster. Naylor discussed the idea of having technology orientations at the start of the school year to educate students about technology and its various platforms. The School Committee ultimately approved both policies.
Foster also provided an update on how technology has progressed since the advent of the pandemic. The Springfield school district has distribution 24,000 laptops to K-12 students while also repairing and replacing 9,500 during the 2020-2021 school year, according to Foster. He shared that the increased reliance on technology includes providing 4,000 4G hotspots and replacing firewall to improve security capacity.
COVID-19
After School Committee members addressed concerns on the district’s infrequent communications about COVID-19 policies with parents, Chief Communication Officer for Springfield Public Schools Azell Cavaan presented a PowerPoint on the district’s latest efforts to communicate with its populous. Cavaan detailed how the district sent out robocalls about the school’s masking and COVID-19 pool testing services, as well as reinforcing their message through radio advertisements, flyers and public access TV spots.
The district has also made a renewed effort to walk parents through pool testing programs, including English and Spanish tutorial videos that display how it’s accomplished in schools.
Cavaan then provided an update on the school’s COVID-19 cases, with 51 students and 17 staff testing positive from Oct. 21 to 27.
Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno expressed his encouragement with the steady decline in COVID-19 cases. “I commend the efforts of Health Commissioner Helen-Caulton Harris, Nursing Head Jeanne Clancy and all of our team,” said Sarno.
The Springfield School Committee will meet again on Nov. 18.