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et nkVermont.n ri D : ts e k c ti t Ge
School district gets serious about student data By Jason Starr Observer staff
The Champlain Valley School District is about halfway through contract renegotiations with dozens of online service providers that have access to students’ personal information. A parent from Shelburne, Odale Cress, urged administrators to undertake the effort at the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, when she was alarmed by the number of different online accounts she needed to create on a variety of digital platforms for the family to participate in the school community, from viewing report cards, to volunteering to playing on sports teams. “There was website after website after website that we had to sign on to,” Cress said during an Oct. 2017 school board meeting. “Who are these people I’m giving my information to?” District Chief Operations Offi-
cer Jeanne Jensen acknowledged that the district hadn’t vetted all the terms of service and privacy policies for each of the roughly 60 web-based services it was using. The platforms have names like WeVideo, BuzzMath, BrainPOP and Kidblog. Students use them to create and share work, and collaborate with peers and teachers, said the district’s director of digital learning, Bonnie Birdsall. With their work on these platforms, students and teachers can access it from any web-connected device, at home or in school. In elementary and middle school grades, teachers create student accounts. In high school, students have an opportunity to create their own accounts. In both cases, student names, email addresses and ages are shared with the companies. Cress’ research showed that several of the companies work with see DATA page 5
Observer photo by Al Frey
Catcher Baker Angstman and pitcher Ian Parent celebrate CVU’s win over Mount Mansfield in the Division 1 state championship game at UVM’s Centennial Field on Saturday.
Three CVU teams take state titles See pages 10-13 for full coverage
A Bigger Bee
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