Mt Vernon Community School Corp holds parent workshop on student digital safety and district monitoring tools

Mt Vernon Community School Corp hosted a parent workshop on digital safety in which local child-advocacy and school-technology staff outlined behavioral risks for young people online and demonstrated tools parents and the district use to reduce harm.

Katie Mullander, executive director of Zoe's Place Child Advocacy Center, framed the presentation around adolescent brain development, saying the prefrontal cortex "does not fully develop until our mid-20s" and arguing that adults should set boundaries while involving teens in conversations about rules. Mullander advised parents to teach children not to share personal information, to connect only with people they know in real life, and to think before sharing photos because "once something is online, it can spread quickly and can never truly be erased." She urged a nonpunitive response if children disclose harm: "You will never get in trouble for telling me something that scared you online."

Mullander also described online extortion and the emotional barriers that can keep children silent, and listed behavioral warning signs—secrecy about devices, suddenly deleting messages, social withdrawal, and anxiety around screens—that parents should notice and address calmly.

Seth Hamilton, director of technology for Mt Vernon Community School Corp, outlined the district's multi-layered approach to safety: prevention, protection and education. He said the district uses a LineWise internet filter on school Chromebooks to meet Children's Internet Protection Act requirements and maintain eligibility for federal funding. "Devices that connect to our network, when they go home, are still under this internet filter," Hamilton said.

Hamilton described classroom-level management through a teacher tool (Classwise) that allows teachers to push or block websites and view student activity during class; he noted that teachers cannot override district-level blocks. He also described LineWise Monitor, a product that scans typed content for indicators of self-harm, bullying, violence or threats and routes alerts to LineWise staff for human review; highest-severity alerts generate phone calls to building administrators.

The district promotes a parent-facing component (the custodial portal) that lets families link their Skyward email to view school-device browsing reports, receive daily summaries, pause internet access on a student device, create filters and apply routines. Hamilton demonstrated the portal and stated that timelines attached to a parent's custodial account for personal devices are visible only to that parent, while district staff can see activity only on district-owned devices connected to the network. He pointed parents to the district's resource hub at mdcsc.onlinesafetyhub.io and noted a LineWise partner webinar for families scheduled for Monday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Hamilton reviewed built-in mobile operating-system controls (Apple Screen Time and Google Family Link) and summarized commercial options parents may choose, including Circle Home Plus and Bark. He emphasized that no tool is foolproof and recommended coupling technical controls with ongoing conversations and relationship-building at home.

The session closed with Mullander and district staff reiterating four takeaways for parents: know where children are online, model and teach safe behavior, keep communication open, and use available resources. The district said it will continue integrated body-safety lessons with Zoe's Place and embed online-safety content in computer and health curricula.

Next steps: the district offered parents guidance on signing up for the custodial portal using their Skyward email, the April 6 LineWise webinar, and suggested contacting the technology office or Zoe's Place for further questions.