6th grade parents/Options video

Dear parents of 6th graders,

It has been brought to my attention that there is an e-mail out there that has our Woodlawn parents concerned about a video shown in our 6th grade Options classes.  As part of our Options curriculum, Resource Officer Stacy Kupsak comes into our building and talks about appropriate computer usage.  She shows the students how easy it is for ANYONE to access their Facebook accounts and the dangers to which our students  are exposed.  One of the parts to the internet awareness program, is a video where a man poses as a teenage girl on-line and meets a young man in the parking lot of the school after hours.  The students tries to get away and they wrestle, before the student calls 911.  It is designed to show the students the dangers of having contact with people on the internet that they do not know.  We have shown this video for a number of years and have never had this type of community reaction.

Personally, I talk to my children about the dangers of the computer all of the time.  We have a saying in the Grana family that goes, "Digital is FOREVER!".  Having been in a middle school for most of my career, I have seen numerous situations where students say things, post things (including pictures) and use a computer in inappropriate ways.  I encourage everyone to ask their student about the video and have the conversation surrounding the dangers that exist.

Thank you to everyone who brought this to my attention and those who have called.   Please feel free to contact me if you have any other questions.

Greg Grana