June marks Internet Safety Month and the start of summer break across the country. With children and adolescents potentially spending more time online over the next few months, it's important to know they can encounter a range of potential safety threats and risks in the digital world, including cyberbullying, online exploitation, and cyber criminals.
Teaching children about digital risks and how to avoid them can be one of the most effective ways to help young people make smart and safe choices in their online interactions. This new SchoolSafety.gov infographic outlines the issue of online safety and provides tips, strategies, and aligned resources specifically geared towards parents and guardians, school communities, and students.
Online threats can jeopardize children's digital experiences and devices and put their sensitive and personal information at risk. They can also have profound and lasting impacts on youth mental health and physical and emotional well-being, and for certain individuals, can present or accelerate a pathway to destructive behaviors. Young people, however, can take a variety of simple, everyday actions to be cyber safe and better protect against digital dangers.
Learn more about online safety, and reference the attached SchoolSafety.gov resource infographic this summer and throughout the year. We also encourage you to download and share this new resource with your networks, stakeholders, and others in the K-12 community as you see fit.
For additional resources and information on online safety, please visit SchoolSafety.gov and follow us on Twitter at @SchoolSafetyGov. If you have any questions, please contact our team at SchoolSafety@hq.dhs.gov.
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Adam Lustig
Director, Center for Safe Schools
National School Boards Association
Alexandria, VA
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