In recent weeks there have been many stories in the media about the dangers teens face online. Many of them involve teens posting their personal profiles on one of the many social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Xanga.

The Rahway Public Schools maintain a firewall that blocks all social networking sites on all of the computers in the District. Our Acceptable Use Policy for computers also states that a staff member will be present when students are on the Internet to monitor their activities.

The same must be done at home. Parents must monitor their child's computer usage. Some suggestions for parents are:

• Place your computer in a common area where you can see your child's activities on the computer
• Do not allow your child to be behind closed doors on the computer for an extended period of time without checking on his/her activities
• Discuss with your child the dangers of posting personal information on the Web
• Be aware of sites that your child frequently visits

Additional information about parent safety tips for Internet usage can be found on the following sites:

SafeKids.com

Kim Komando's 10 Commandments for Kids Online

The FBI Parent's Guide to the Internet

If you have any questions about the use of technology in the Rahway Public Schools, please contact Barbara Martin, District Manager of Technology at 732-396-2614 or email her at bmartin@rahway.net