Administrators from across Long Island attended another CAS sponsored Continuing Teacher Leader Education (CTLE) workshop, Social Media, Your Code of Conduct and The Law, held at the Plainview Holiday Inn on December 7, 2016. Administrators have been bombarded with incidents involving students’ inappropriate use of social media. Knowing how to navigate the complexities that dealing with these situations can bring is paramount to a leader’s success. This social media workshop, presented by Dr. Timothy Eagen, Superintendent of the Kings Park CSD and president of NYASCD, informed a room full of administrators what can be done to protect students and staff.
Dr. Eagen encouraged the audience to develop an action plan before anything occurs – “You don’t want to be caught off guard. Make sure that you have a process in place.” Outlining an evidence collection procedure and requesting detailed statements in the event a document analysis is needed to prepare for a superintendent’s disciplinary hearing that will withstand any subsequent appeal. In addition to the personal lessons learned, Dr. Eagen shared the records that could be used as part of the disciplinary process, which include, but are not limited to: student statements, staff statements, the principal’s suspension (3214) letter, parent letters/statements, discipline record(s), and investigator’s statements.
As the workshop closed, Dr. Eagen advised the group to keep an eye out for a list of applications that can be used to hide data and intent. He provided several examples of how schools can modify their school discipline policies and codes of conduct to better protect school communities from the misapplication and malicious use of social media.
The participants praised Dr. Eagen’s candid presentation of the steps to take when dealing with a disciplinary issue involving the misuse of social media. “This workshop was so helpful and informative. The legal aspect and appropriate steps to take regarding a situation like this was so helpful.”
CAS is a certified NYSED Continuing Teacher Leader Education (CTLE) sponsor and all successful participants were granted two (2) hours of CTLE professional development credit applicable toward the hours needed for continuing certification.
Additional Continuing Teacher Leader Education (CTLE) workshops are being planned for the spring 2017 semester.
Visit https://casliny.com for more information, or contact us at 631-761-5451.
