GoGuardian Teacher Letter Template for Parents/Guardians

GoGuardian Admin/Teacher Template Parent/Guardian Letter

**IMPORTANT INFORMATION – PLEASE REMOVE BEFORE SENDING TO PARENTS/GUARDIANS**

GOGUARDIAN CREATED THIS SAMPLE/TEMPLATE PARENT/GUARDIAN LETTER THAT YOUR SCHOOL/DISTRICT MAY WISH TO USE AS THE BASIS FOR CREATING ITS OWN SCHOOL/DISTRICT-APPROVED LETTER.  

*DIRECTIONS FOR USE*  

We know your school/district wants to be transparent with their families about use of online services such as GoGuardian in the classroom. We hope that this template serves as a useful starting point for your school/ district. On that note, please tailor the various areas of this letter to show how your school will be using GoGuardian’s Admin or Teacher products, including filling out / adjusting / removing all of the  [yellow highlighted text]  and entering your school/district name when you see [insert school/district name].  In addition, please ensure that you tailor your letter to meet the legal and policy requirements of your particular district or school (such as requiring parents/guardians to sign giving their consent to use GoGuardian in the classroom with their child).

GOGUARDIAN PROVIDES THIS TEMPLATE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND DOES NOT WARRANT THAT IT SATISFIES ANY APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE, OR DISTRICT REQUIREMENT.  GOGUARDIAN CANNOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR FOR ANY LEGAL OR OTHER RISKS BASED ON SENDING THIS TEMPLATE OR ANY VARIATION THEREOF. YOU REMAIN SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ENSURING ALL COMMUNICATIONS WITH PARENTS COMPLY WITH APPLICABLE LAWS, STANDARDS, AND POLICIES.

If you have any questions about how to use this sample letter, please contact us at [e-mail].

___________________________________

[insert your school’s/district’s logo]

Dear Parent or Guardian:

[insert school/district name] is using Chromebooks this school year.  To help keep your child safer and more scholarly online, we have adopted online services provided by GoGuardian.

It may be helpful to know that over 10,000 other schools use GoGuardian to protect 5.5 million students across the world, and the Global Educator Institute has endorsed the GoGuardian Teacher product.

How are we using GoGuardian?

We have chosen [GoGuardian Admin and GoGuardian Teacher] services to:

• Help protect students against harmful and inappropriate online material
• Help students stay “scholarly” and more focused when learning online
• Helping assess students’ progress towards class assignments [only if your school has GoGuardian Teacher]
• Facilitating communication between teachers and students during class time [if your school has GoGuardian Teacher]

When and how does GoGuardian operate?

GoGuardian’s web-based services operate on our school’s managed Google Suite for Education Chrome accounts (i.e., when a student is logged into Chrome or a Chromebook with his/her school email address).

[***GOGUARDIAN ADMIN SETTINGS:  “[insert school/district name] helps protect your child during ______________. ”  Remember that if you share these settings with parents/guardians through this letter or otherwise, please accurately describe your settings and that school may need to update your parents/guardians if you change the settings during the school year. If you need help understanding your school’s GoGuardian settings, please reach out to your school admin.]

[***GOGUARDIAN TEACHER SETTINGS: Your school/district can share your settings in GoGuardian Teacher such as limiting GoGuardian teacher to operate. “[insert school/district name] enables teachers to use GoGuardian Teacher with students in their classes only during school hours from XXXX a.m. to XXX p.m. Monday through Friday.”  Remember that if you share these settings with parents/guardians through this letter or otherwise, please accurately describe your settings and that school may need to update your parents/guardians if you change the settings during the school year. If you need help understanding your school’s GoGuardian settings, please reach out to your school admin.]

What are the school’s responsibilities?

[insert school/district name] selected GoGuardian services to help our students stay safer and more scholarly online. [We will work with students during class time to help teach them digital responsibility and safety.  Additionally, we will train teachers about how to operate GoGuardian and about our policies and procedures to help protect student privacy.]

What are my parental/guardian and child’s responsibilities?

We ask that students uses their school-managed Google accounts and school-managed devices  for educational purposes within the boundaries of [insert school/district name]’s __________________________[insert name of agreements and notifications with students and their parents - e.g., including a link or attached copy of your school’s/district’s Technology Acceptable Use Agreement .

When a student is off campus, parents are responsible for supervising internet access and usage. We encourage you to discuss rules for appropriate internet usage with your child, and reinforce lessons of digital citizenship and safety with him or her.  We also highly encourage you to report any potential cyberbullying or other sensitive issues to us.

What are my choices as a parent/guardian?

[Your school/district may add language about choices that parents have regarding the use of GoGuardian Beacon in connection with their child, including any opt-out or Family Educational Rights Privacy Act (“FERPA”) rights.  Please consult your school’s/district's legal/policy team for this decision!]

How does GoGuardian help protect my child’s privacy?

To help your child remain scholarly and safe online, GoGuardian collects certain personally identifiable information about your child.  GoGuardian has consulted with privacy experts, participates in privacy organizations, is a proud signatory of the Student Privacy Pledge, and has been awarded certifications by iKeepSafe for complying with both Family Education Rights and Privacy Act and California student privacy laws.  For more detailed information about GoGuardian, you may visit GoGuardian’s website, Trust & Privacy Center, GoGuardian’s Product Privacy Policy, and the attached COPPA Notice and Disclosure Form.

We are here to answer any questions that you may have.  

Sincerely,

_________________________________________________________

[Insert Principal/Superintendent Name/Other Administrator Name]

[insert school/district name]

Attachments:

• [Insert any attachments that your school/district wants to send to parents/guardians about GoGuardian Admin and/or Teacher]