KidsMatter’s Annual Digital Leader Summit Returns to Naperville

Naperville, IL, October 9, 2019 - A vast majority of teens—90% to be exact—believe online harassment is a problem and 63% say that it is a major problem according to the Pew Research Center.

KidsMatter—a non-profit serving 45,000 youth in DuPage and Will Counties—in partnership with Naperville Community Unit School District 203 and Indian Prairie School District 204 want to help to reshape the minds and actions of youth using technology and empower students to be leaders and “upstanders” during its annual two-day Digital Leader Summit being held at the Community-Yellow Box in Naperville on October 15 and 16, 2019.

With nearly 400 students expected to attend, the goal of the Summit is to teach selected 4th grade to 8th-grade leaders from 47 different schools to dodge the drama, stand up for others, and teach other students how to do the same.

Over 75 instructors will help to teach students an array of cyber-awareness principles using scenario-based learning and curriculum from both Google's Be Internet Awesome program and Common Sense Media's digital education program. How to be collaborative with one another, imagine the possibilities of being an “upstander” versus bystander, and use complex thoughts to be productive students and members of a community are also focuses of the small group breakouts at the Summit.

KidsMatter’s CEO and Executive Director Kamala Martinez believes that with “[G]uidance from parents and educators, kids can learn the fundamentals of being an upstanding digital citizen, and these newly created leaders can help to guide and mentor other peers and even family members on best practices.“

During the school year, digital leaders who attend the Summit are carefully chosen by a combination of different school partners—from the school principal to the information technology expert within a school. Up to four student leaders are chosen from each school that participates in the Summit, and student leaders are then asked to return to their schools after the Summit concludes to work together with trained Digital Leader Instructors to plan, prepare and present a digital citizenship program to different grade levels or at an assembly at their school.

Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico is expected to kick off the two-day Summit and join the districts’ learning commons directors, educational administrators, KidsMatter staff, and volunteers for the opening session on Tuesday the 15th.

“Knowing that students use Chrome books, iPads and tablets every day in our schools, coupled with the fact that teens spend more than nine hours every day online equates to there being a strong need for empowering educational programs such as the Digital Leader Summit. Digital awareness is already a hot topic for both our municipal departments and community, but now more than ever organizations like KidsMatter are offering support, in the form of instruction and scenario-based learning to children at an early age to ensure that they grow up to be leaders and not bystanders to issues involving technology,” stressed Mayor Chirico.

Detective Richard Wistocki, a long-standing partner of KidsMatter and founder of BeSure Consulting also added, “Cyber safety and security need to be important elements in the educational development of children, teens, and even parents. We all can learn a boundless amount of information about being respectful online and in our community from various sources, but the Digital Leader Summit goes beyond basic knowledge on how to use the internet, and in addition teaches kids about using valid online resources, respecting copyright laws on written materials and media, and teaches these kids that reporting illegal online activities or solicitations make us all safer online and off.”

Wistocki has dedicated 22 of his 30-year career to internet crime. On November 13, 2019, he will join KidsMatter in bringing the “Cyber Safety 101 for Elementary Kids & Parents” program to Naperville’s City Hall from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m.

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KidsMatter is a Naperville, Illinois-based not-for-profit organization that equips youth and families with tools to manage the stressors of everyday life through dynamic school and community programs, practical education, resources and youth recognition. KidsMatter harnesses the power of partnership with parents, educators and an extensive network of community resources to build resilient kids who say NO to destructive choices and YES to endless possibilities. For more information on KidsMatter’s 15 different events and programs for the 2019-2020 school year, visit their BRAND NEW website at kidsmatter2us.org.