Q: What does it mean to “sign up” to be a Common Sense school? Am I committing my school to do anything?
A: By signing up, you are registering to access the Common Sense Schools resources. There is no commitment associated with registering, and you are not obligated to do anything once registered.

Q: Who can sign up? Can multiple educators from one school sign up?
A: Anyone affiliated with a school can and should sign up to access the materials. Every educator should create their own username and password so that they can track their own activities, post their own reviews and comments, and personalize the site for their own classrooms or families.

Q: My school isn't listed, or I'm not with a K-12 school. Can I still register?
A: Yes! The Common Sense Schools Program is appropriate and available for any educator that works with parents and families. From the registration page click the link for "Don't see your institution? Add it here" to enter your own information. Please complete the information as best you can. 

Q: How do I get started with using the program?
A: We recommend familiarizing yourself with the materials by watching this short interactive presentation. 

Q: How do I know which topics to cover?
A: One option is to survey your parent community to find out what their media concerns and interests are. Alternatively, you can browse our resources by grade to learn about the media issues your students are likely facing. 

Q: I can’t implement a whole media education program at my school (for all kinds of reasons!) but I want to do something. Any suggestions?
A: You can pick and choose some resources to use in a one-off way. For example, you could send home one of our family media agreements with your Acceptable Use Policy at the start of the school year, or have a few tip sheets available on an info table at a back-to-school night. We’ve also heard from a number of PTA groups that share the tip sheets at PTA meetings without having to involve school administration. How deeply you use the program is up to you, and there’s no right or wrong way to provide parent media education.

Q: How do I find PDFs of your tip pages?
A: From any tip page click the “Download a Parent Handout” link under the “See Resources for this Topic” header. This is also how you can download a PDF of any of our resources including the discussion guides, communication templates, grade-by-grade guide, or the PowerPoint presentations.

Q: How can I get all of your resources in hard copy?
A: There are two ways to get all of our resources in hard copy. One is to order a CD/DVD set that has all of the materials in PDF form for easy printing, as well as a DVD of our parent education videos for $20. Or you can order a hard copy binder with printed materials that includes the CD/DVD for $50 ($30 for Title 1 schools).  Click here for more info.

Q: I can't purchase a kit, does that mean I can't use the resources?
A: No. Everything that is contained in the hard copy kit is available online and you do not need to have a kit to implement the program. 

Q: Do you have resources for students?
A: Our current resources are designed to be used to educate and engage parents. We are in the process of developing a digital citizenship curriculum for students, which will be made available to registered educators in the Spring 2010 semester. Be sure you’re signed up for our newsletter to get updates on this curriculum!

Q: Are your resources really free? There’s no catch?
A: Yep – totally free to you to access online. We’re funded by a number of foundations and individuals that allow us to make these resources widely available to educators for free. We also rely on the support of individual donors, so if you’d like to make a donation to support our work, you can do so here.

Q: Are you affiliated with any political or religious groups?
A: No. Common Sense Media is a nonpartisan, independent organization.

Q: Do you offer trainings on how to use this program?
A: We’re building an online training library that we hope will answer any and all questions you may have about using the program. We also offer quarterly webinars that explain topics specific to the resources or to parent media education. Make sure you’re getting our monthly newsletter to hear more about these trainings.

Q: Do you come out and do talks for parents, kids or teachers?
A: We’re a small team, so the number of talks we can do around the country is limited. Please contact our Outreach Manager to find out more. We also offer frequent talks at educational conferences around the country about parent media education, or about the Common Sense Schools resources specifically. Check out our schedule of upcoming events or email schools@commonsensemedia.org to find out more about bringing Common Sense to your conference.

Q: I’m not getting your newsletter. How can I change that?
A: Go to your “My Account” page and scroll to the bottom to change your email preferences. You should also add CommonSenseMedia@CommonSenseMedia.org to your email address book to ensure our messages make it to your inbox and don’t get trapped in spam.

Q: I have other questions that aren’t answered here, is there someone I can talk to?
A: Of course! We’re here to help. Email schools@commonsensemedia.org any time with your question and let us know if you’d like to hear back by email or phone. We’ll follow up as soon as possible.