Good afternoon and welcome to what looks like a very wet weekend. None-the-less I am sure everyone is happy the weekend has arrived.
This past week I had the pleasure of attending an internet safety night hosted by the Streetsboro Community PTA. The event featured Jesse Weinberger, a world-renowned author and presenter on internet safety for students, parents and schools. Jesse mixed humor with some very frightening content that EVERY parent should know and understand.
Parents need to understand that our children as young as third grade are being exposed to porn and predators on a daily basis if they have their own device at home. If you missed this amazing, frightening and informative event, please take the time to research her on the internet. She hosts a podcast called Big Momma’s House and you can read articles and get information on her website at OvernightgeekUniversity.com.
Jesse also is on Facebook at Facebook.com/OvernightgeekUniversity and has written a very informative book entitled The Boogeyman Exists. Please take some time to look into her content. I promise you will not be disappointed. We all need to do our parts in order to keep our children safe.
I would also like to remind everyone on Wednesday, May 10th, from 6:00 to 8:00 at the high school, the Streetsboro City School District CARES team will present our first Internet and Safety Forum for ALL parents and guardians in the district. The opening session will feature Mr. and Mrs. Woods, the parents of James Woods, along with a spokesperson from the Internet Crimes Against Children Division.
During this powerful opening session, parents will hear the Woods tell the tragic story regarding their son James and sextortion and a speaker from the Internet Crimes Against Children will provide factual information to all parents regarding keeping our kids safe on the internet. Following the opening session will be breakout rooms specific to the grade levels at each building.
Our CARES team, made up of our counselors, social worker and school psychologists, will lead these sessions and provide age-specific guidance relevant to keeping our children safe and mentally healthy. CHILD CARE will be provided for FREE in the gymnasium by our own Streetsboro High School Students. Donations will be accepted for childcare and will be given to the James Woods Foundation. Look for more information from your building principals very soon.
On another note I would like to offer a shout out to our Operations Department for successfully writing and securing one of the safety grants recently awarded to schools across the state. This competitive grant was awarded to each of our four school buildings for 100,000 each for a total of $400,000 for the district. These funds can be used for various enhancements centered around making our schools a safer place for students and staff. Please to to the website and read the exciting news using this link: https://www.scsrockets.org/streetsboro-city-schools-awarded-400000-in-latest-round-of-ohios-k-12-school-safety-grant-program/
Finally as we enter the final few weeks of school, it is critical that all parents look critically at your child’s grades in the Home Access Center (HAC). If your child is in danger of failing, it may not be too late to partner with the schools in order to get the correct support in place to help your child pass his or her class. Take advantage of this useful tool and have critical conversations with your child and teacher about their progress. Working together we can help make all children successful in school.
It is my hope that everyone has a safe and restful weekend. Use the rainy weekend to spend some quality time with your family since we will likely be stuck indoors.
Sincerely,
R. Michael Daulbaugh
Superintendent