Los Angeles Unified School District Teams With Common Sense Media for Inaugural Digital Citizenship Week
District Uses K-12 Digital Citizenship and Literacy Curriculum for All 650,000 LAUSD Students in Preparation for Second Phase of District-Wide iPad Rollout
SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Common Sense Media, the national nonprofit helping kids and families thrive in the digital age, has partnered with LAUSD for the successful launch of the district's first Digital Citizenship Week. Since Monday, every student in every Los Angeles public school has been learning about safely and responsibly engaging in the vast online world through lessons from Common Sense Media's K-12 Digital Literacy and Citizenship curriculum.
"In today's digital world, kids are tested with each post, search, chat, text message, file download, and profile update," said James Steyer, CEO and founder of Common Sense Media. "We applaud our partners in Los Angeles Unified School District for supporting this initiative to prepare their students to maximize the potential of technology for learning."
LAUSD teachers have been accessing a comprehensive Common Sense Media toolkit with grade-appropriate lesson plans, activities that can be implemented schoolwide, and materials to engage parents, guardians, and communities about digital citizenship.
The district-wide initiative kicked off with a special event at Western Avenue Elementary School on Friday, March 14. City and district dignitaries, including leadership from the LAUSD Common Core Technology Project (CCTP) team; Thelma Melendez, the director of education and workforce development for the City of Los Angeles; Sylvia Rousseau, LAUSD board member (District 1: South and Southwest LA); and LAUSD Superintendent John E. Deasy visited the school where students have been using iPads in their classrooms since last fall.
"Our students are entering a digital world. Knowing how to use powerful technology, and being safe while doing so, is fundamental for their future. This is why digital citizenship is so important to us. We are preparing our students to be the best they can be," said Deasy. "As we proceed into Phase II of our Common Core Technology Project, and as we begin to adopt new standards intended to help our students achieve, Digital Citizenship Week represents measurable advancements in our efforts to bring true 21st-century teaching and learning practices into every classroom across the District."
LAUSD held three other special events across the district and will continue to provide targeted resources for schools throughout the year. To learn more about LAUSD's Digital Citizenship Week, please visit http://lausd.schoolwires.net/dcw.
About Common Sense Media
Common Sense Media is a leading independent nonprofit organization offering the largest, most trusted library of independent, age-based ratings and reviews for everything digital kids want to watch, play, read, and use. The ratings, reviews, and information are unbiased and provided for free to help families and educators make great media and technology choices. For more information, go to: www.commonsensemedia.org.
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