It wasn't long until the rumors started.
And it wasn't long after the gossip began that district officials started an investigation.
In January, Ryan Wilson found himself suspended with pay until officials could finish their investigation.
Now back at work after investigators could find no evidence of serious wrongdoing, Wilson is a changed teacher. He received a letter of reprimand; officials concluded he should have reported the teen's constant texting. Since the communications placed him in a compromising situation, he now saves and files every text message and e-mail between him and students.
Stories like this one pop up in the media more and more as social networking and social media continues to bloom with popularity. When it involves schools, there is not one position unphased by the potential damage. From the faculty who finds themselves on the front cover of the local paper, to the Admission Director who has to find new maneuvers around the rumors to attract new students, crossing virtual boundaries can be damaging.
Scholars and education leaders nationwide have been struggling with how to handle the growing intensity of issues revolving around text messages and social media sites like Facebook—one sentence is all it takes for a parent to complain. To protect themselves, many schools are looking into creating new policies that apply to both faculty and students.
Sample Employee Handbook: Policies for Private-Independent Schools, includes a social media sample policy that you can easily cut and paste into your school's employee handbook.
Young teachers that have grown up with technologies such as the smart phone favor text messages because it allows students to easily inform them when they're running late. Some districts even encourage teachers to share their phone numbers with students so they can be reached at night if they have questions about their homework. However, what begins as innocent communication can easily detour into dangerous territory.
Not everyone agrees with a straightforward ban on text messaging or online conversations. Such communication tools have become so mainstream it's seemingly unrealistic to forbid usage—especially concerning new hires and young personnel.
Teachers are starting to reach out and ask for guidance. They want to know the proper ways to handle student communication, and are eager to learn the proper distances they should keep online and via texting.
Of course it's not just teachers and students that have to be aware of social media boundaries. Recently, we published a story about a School Head who used Facebook to scan applicants. It does not have a happy ending for the school. (You can read—or send to a friend—the article here. We have disguised the school's name so we could use it throughout our marketing.)
