Westport Schools Superintendent Discusses Rise Of Social Media Videos

WESTPORT, CT — In a message to parents this week, Westport Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice said the rise in the posting of social media videos in Westport schools, and in schools throughout the U.S., can be "highly disturbing and disruptive" to the educational process.

He urged parents to monitor their child's social media habits, and share any videos that could help administrators address potential problems.

"Since the start of this school year, we have addressed acts of bullying, threatening, harassment on the basis of protected classes, and in some cases, threats of violence and actual violence," Scarice wrote. "Our new reality is that most of the incidents stem from interactions among students over social media. Students are creating and circulating videos, exchanging text messages, or recording and sharing misconduct (i.e. bullying, threatening, violence, etc.) as it occurs in real time. This is highly disturbing and disruptive to the school environment."

Addressing student misconduct, which can range from minor to extremely serious, is a role that administrators unfortunately have to navigate, and Scarice said the district deals with such actions with urgency.

"If your child has access to Tik Tok, or other social media platforms, as most secondary, and some elementary students do, they have likely viewed such videos that have originated and been widely disseminated from students in Westport, and also from others across the country," Scarice wrote.

"What’s problematic is that most of these incidents originate outside of school (i.e. at home, in the community, on weekends, etc.), yet these incidents have proven to have a significant negative impact on our students’ well-being and sense of safety, as well as the entire school environment."

From Scarice's message:

As such, when these incidents occur, even if off campus, it is within the purview of the school district to administer consequences and seek restoration between students when appropriate. You will likely hear about these unfortunate incidents. However, I want to caution that information you might hear in the community is not necessarily what we have found to have actually occurred following careful investigations.

Rumor and misinformation contribute to a climate of fear. There are very clear and rigid student privacy laws that the district must follow. We cannot share all information that occurs within the disciplinary matters the schools must address.

However, I can assure you that there are comprehensive processes in place to investigate and swiftly address these matters. Each of the incidents that has occurred this year, including those in the past month, has been handled in accordance with the district code of conduct, bullying and harassment laws, and other applicable laws.

Additionally, I can assure you that beyond consequences, the district aims to restore and provide supportive measures where appropriate. Whenever our students are affected by these incidents, we support them in a variety of ways. We strictly prohibit all forms of bullying, harassment, and hate-based conduct, and we are constantly working toward cultivating a school culture and environment that is safe and inclusive for all students.

These are top priorities for us at all times. However, at the present moment, these incidents have taken on a heightened significance as we confront international violence and atrocities that have affected many members of our community, both directly and indirectly.

We are addressing an increasing number of off-campus social media incidents. We cannot do this alone and need parental support. We ask that you are fully attuned to your child’s social media consumption and dissemination.

Any member of our school community who becomes aware of an act of bullying, harassment, violence, or threats should promptly report these concerns to their building principal, assistant principal, or other staff member. If you have media recordings we ask that you share them with the building administration to assist in our investigations. We take these matters extremely seriously, and we ask that our families serve as partners in helping us identify and prevent this conduct in school, out of school, and online.