Draft 4/10/2025

Recognizing the impact of smartphones and social media on mental health, attention spans, and social development, the Curtis educational technology policy aims to guide students toward nurturing real-world interactions, developing emotional resilience, and cultivating responsible technology habits.

Core Principles

1. Prioritizing Face-to-Face Interaction:
   Encourage real-world social engagement through group activities, discussions, and unstructured play to develop communication skills and emotional resilience.

2. Setting Clear Technology Boundaries:
   Limit screen time during school hours and establish to reduce distractions and foster focus.

3. Promoting Digital Literacy:
   Integrate lessons on evaluating online content critically, recognizing misinformation, and understanding the ethical use of technology.

4. Modeling Healthy Technology Use:
   Teachers and staff will demonstrate intentional tech use, avoiding unnecessary reliance on screens during instructional time, walking on campus, supervising students.

Policy Guidelines

1. Device Restrictions:

   • Classroom technology use will be limited to tools that enhance learning rather than replace meaningful interactions.

2. Encouraging Play-Based Learning:

   • Allocate more time for unstructured play to allow students to develop independence, problem-solving skills, and emotional regulation.

   • Activities will emphasize risk-taking in safe environments to build resilience.

3. Delaying Access to Smartphones and Social Media:

   • Families are encouraged to postpone providing smartphones until age 14 and restrict access to social media until at least age 16. (See Common Sense Seminar video at 10 minute marker for recent findings…requires registration to view)

4. Sleep Hygiene Education:

   • Educators will collaborate with parents to address the importance of reducing screen time before bed to combat sleep deprivation linked to mental health issues.

Implementation Strategies

• Teacher Training: Provide professional development on fostering real-world connections and teaching digital literacy effectively. Common Sense material referenced in the above video.

• Parent Collaboration: Host workshops on managing technology use at home, delaying smartphone/social media access, and supporting free play.Common Sense offers a Family Tech Planner. The webinar mentioned above has great ideas for parent education activities.

• Monitoring & Feedback: Regularly assess the impact of these policies on students' mental health and academic performance through surveys and discussions with stakeholders.

Expected Outcomes

By implementing this policy:

• Students will develop stronger social skills, emotional resilience, and focus.

• The school environment will foster healthier relationships with technology.

• Families will be supported in creating balanced tech habits at home.

This policy reflects our mission statement to nurture the whole child—emotionally, socially, and academically—while addressing the challenges of growing up in a digital age.

-We believe technology should support and enhance learning in meaningful, age-appropriate ways 

-meaningful integration.

-Balance 

-We also care about mental health and wellness.

At Curtis, we believe in using technology to inspire learning, spark innovation, and support learning in meaningful, age-appropriate ways through thoughtful and meaningful integration.

Centers child development, including student health and wellness

Encourages healthy habits

Enhances human to human interaction and critical thinking

-foster creativity

-complement the traditional and non-tech; use tech as a tool and not the default

-focus on mental health and positive growth

-encourages real life interactions and social skills

Our instructional use of technology seeks to enhance, rather than replace, human interaction and critical thinking.

Acknowledging the role technology plays in our world, our focus as a school is teaching kids healthy habits, balance, and appropriate times and ways to use technology.

We strive to nurture the whole child emotionally, socially, and academically—while addressing the realities of living in a digital age.