Centennial Elementary acknowledged for technology in the classroom

Centennial Elementary was recently recognized as a Common Sense School by Common Sense, the national nonprofit organization dedicated to helping kids and families thrive in a world of digital media and technology.

"We applaud the faculty and staff of Centennial Elementary for embracing digital citizenship as an important part of their students' education," said Liz Kline, Vice President of Education Programs for Common Sense Education. "Centennial deserves high praise for giving its students the foundational skills they need to compete and succeed in the 21st-century workplace and participate ethically in society at large."

Thanks to the voter-renewed Technology Levy, Bethel's Digital Learning Program is making great strides to help our 20,000 students learn to use their classroom iPads safely and responsibly. And Centennial is a shining example of that.

Centennial Elementary has demonstrated its commitment to taking a whole-community approach to preparing its students to use the immense power of digital media to explore, create, connect, and learn, while limiting the perils that exist in the online realm, such as plagiarism, loss of privacy, and cyberbullying. The recognition acknowledges our schools commitment creating a culture of digital learning and citizenship.

Centennial Elementary has been using Common Sense Education's innovative and research-based digital citizenship resources, which were created in collaboration with Dr. Howard Gardner of the GoodPlay Project at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The resources teach students, educators, and parents tangible skills related to Internet safety, protecting online reputations and personal privacy, managing online relationships, and respecting creative copyright. The free resources are currently used in more than 100,000 classrooms nationwide.

Doug Boyles is the communications director for the Bethel School District