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ACES First Digital Citizenship Certified District Connecticut

May 15th, 2016

ACES RECOGNIZED AS FIRST DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP CERTIFIED DISTRICT IN CONNECTICUT

This past year, ACES became the first Digital Citizenship certified district in Connecticut. This honor was awarded by Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a digital media and technology world. ACES has demonstrated its commitment to taking the whole-community approach to preparing its students to use the immense power of digital media to explore, create, connect, and learn, while limiting the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying. To achieve this status, ACES created a Digital Citizenship Professional Learning Community to research evidence and best practice. The Committee completed the digital certification process. They, in turn, worked with ACES schools to share lessons. They also worked with families at family nights and through presentations that focused on parenting and social media.

“We applaud the faculty and staff of ACES for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students’ education. ACES deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at-large.” - Rebecca Randall | Vice President of Education Programs for Common Sense Education

ACES has been using Common Sense Education’s innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with Dr. Howard Gardner of the GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to Internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, managing online relationships, and respecting creative copyright.