Schools' Social Networking Policy Discussed

Westborough school staff members' social networking activities should be held to “absolutely the same standards that apply in a school environment," Superintendent Marianne O'Connor told the school committee Wednesday night.

School officials have spent the past year developing a social networking policy, O'Connor said.

The school board will vote on the policy at its next meeting, on Nov. 7, Chairman Ilyse Levine-Kanji said.

O'Connor said school officials have reviewed other communities' school social networking policies, and the Westborough schools' attorney has reviewed this one.

The proposed policy includes language notifying coaches that school officials have the right to request records from their personal phones related to school business, O'Connor said.

District Director of Technology Kathy Martin said there’s “a need to clarify for teachers” the schools' social networking expectations, and “underscore the requirement and the need for them to be their very best professional selves online."