Many of you have already joined our new Whatsapp Community!  We hope this platform will enable you get involved in the topics you feel most passionate about. Here are the groups you can join today:

Cell Phone Policy

Chromebooks

AI Policy

Spanish Translation (help us translate our emails)

General

Even if you can’t attend or speak at a Board Meeting, you can email Superintendent Munro (kmunro@sccs.net) and the Board of Trustees (trustees@sccs.net) in support of an “Off and Away” policy.  Use this template if you like or write your own.  You can also request a meeting with your area trustee to discuss this issue in person.

In less than a year, our Santa Cruz group has grown to nearly 200 people.  We want to hear from as many of you as possible. Your response will help us shape the direction of this group’s advocacy. 

We acknowledge and applaud the meaningful changes many teachers, staff and administrators implemented last year and the positive impact on our children and their classmates.  This group’s efforts have created change. 

Google’s policy requires that schools obtain explicit consent from parents for their children to access YouTube on school devices. For most schools (including SCCS) this consent is buried in the acceptable use policy we sign during registration. However, it is possible to revoke consent. If you are worried about YouTube at school, we drafted a template letter.  Please let us know if you plan to opt out so we can get a sense for numbers.

Beginning in middle school, SCCS assigns every child their own chromebook to bring home (1:1 Chromebook policy) but has yet to provide adequate after school parent monitoring tools.  If Chromebook use at home has been a problem for your family, we’ve created a 1:1 Chromebook opt-out template that you can email to your school’s administrators.  

We are actively advocating for an “Away for the Day” or “Bell to Bell” cell phone policy and hoping for change on this front, but as it currently stands SCCS high schools will continue to allow student cell phone usage during passing periods, breaks and lunchtime.  In an effort to partner with teachers and administrators to keep our students focused at school, some parents are choosing to limit their own child’s smartphone access during school hours.  Using the setting on iPhones and Androids you can harness the "Downtime or School time" function to effectively lock the device except for messages or calls from certain numbers (parents/guardians, e.g.) while they are at school.  This could be especially effective for incoming Freshmen who are already accustomed to not accessing their devices during the school day. Learn more, Sign the pledge and share with your friends! 

Use this template to request to opt your child out of using the i-Ready app at school.

As always, we encourage you to contact Superintendent Munro (kmunro@sccs.net) and your SCCS Area Trustee Representative to share your concerns.

Area 1:  kevingrossman@sccs.net

Area 2:  kylekelley@sccs.net  

Area 3:  maryannerobb@sccs.net

Area 4:  johnowen@sccs.net

Area 5:  angelameeker@sccs.net

Area 6:  cynthiaruhsam@sccs.net

Area 7:  pthreet@sccs.net

Thank you!  We can’t be effective without your voice and participation.

Stacey, Katie, Julie and Zoe