Meeting Minutes

The Social Media Awareness and Digital Citizenship Advisory Committee held its fifth meeting on April 29, 2025, at Barrington Middle School–Prairie Campus. Click here to view the meeting agenda. The goals of this meeting included:

• Reviewing Framework 220 baseline progress
• Examining the proposed 2025–26 Technology Use Guidelines
• Gathering committee reflections and input on the draft guidelines

During the meeting:

• Committee members participated in an Inclusion Activity drawn from CharacterStrong, focused on fostering relational connections among participants.
• Advisory Committee leadership provided a review of progress on Framework 220 baseline goals.
• Grade-level groups (Elementary, BMS, BHS) examined the proposed 2025–26 Social Media and Digital Citizenship (SMADC) Technology Use Guidelines and provided annotations with questions, comments, and suggestions.
• Committee members completed a reflection form to provide individual feedback on the proposed guidelines and overall process.
• The Advisory Committee reviewed next steps, including:

  • Leadership group refinement of the proposed guidelines

  • Development of a Board memo and presentation

  • An invitation for Advisory Committee members to attend the upcoming Board presentation

Next Step:
The final presentation of the proposed Technology Use Guidelines will take place at the Board of Education Meeting on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.

The Social Media Awareness and Digital Citizenship Advisory Committee held its fourth meeting on April 1, 2025. Click here to view the meeting agenda. The goals of this meeting included:

• Reviewing Framework 220’s progress toward baseline goals
• Analyzing and aligning the committee’s consolidated list of social media and digital citizenship issues with existing district policies
• Making grade-level-specific recommendations for potential additions or changes to district handbooks and guidelines
   

During the meeting:

• Committee members participated in an Inclusion Activity focused on strengthening relationships and establishing shared purpose
• Advisory Committee leadership reviewed the current project timeline and shared progress on the Framework 220 baseline work
• Members broke into grade-level groups (Elementary, BMS, and BHS) to: Cross-reference the committee’s consolidated list of social media and digital citizenship issues with existing handbook language and district guidelines
• Identify gaps and make grade-level-specific recommendations for policy and guideline updates
   

Next steps:

• The Steering Committee will review all grade-level recommendations, identifying patterns and working toward alignment across the K–12 continuum.
• The Leadership Team and Steering Committee will bring revised guidelines back to the Advisory Committee to a final round of recommendations at our next meeting on April 29.
• Our final meeting of the year is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, 2025, 6:00–8:00 PM at the Prairie Campus Library.

The Social Media Awareness and Digital Citizenship Committee held its second meeting on February 25, 2025. Click here to view the meeting agenda. The goals of this meeting included:

• Reporting the results of the Priority Subcommittee selection process.
• Meetings with each Priority Subcommittee to reflect upon common research and book chapters connected to each subcommittee’s topic.
• Completing design thinking activities to identify subcommittee work and next steps.
   

During the meeting: 

• Committee members participated in an Inclusion Activity focused on developing positive relationships among stakeholder groups and sharing that we all approach choices differently.
• Committee members agreed to our Working Agreements, in alignment with the same agreements shared at Barrington 220 meetings.
• Dr. Matt Fuller shared the Priority Subcommittee selection process and results.
• Priority Subcommittees discussed reflections and insights into the shared research specific to their subcommittee. Click here to view the shared research.
• Priority Subcommittees worked through brainstorming, affinity mapping, dot voting, and storyboard activities to identify subcommittee-specific work and next steps.
• Priority Subcommittees presented their work and next steps to the entire Advisory Committee.
• The Advisory Committee leadership shared next meeting dates and locations:
  • NEW DATE—Tuesday, April 1, 2025, 6:00–8:00 PM (Location to be determined)
  • Tuesday, April 29, 2025, 6:00–8:00 PM at Barrington Middle School Prairie Campus in the LMC.

The Social Media Awareness and Digital Citizenship Committee held its second meeting on January 14, 2025. Click here to view the meeting agenda. The goals of this meeting included:

• Processing and reflecting on analysis of data gathered from the committee to identify priorities
• Processing and reflecting on focus group data to support future priority work
• Working with Dr. Devorah Heitner to gain background knowledge and further focus group insights to support future priority work
   

During the meeting: 

• Committee members participated in an Inclusion Activity focused on developing positive relationships at the table between our stakeholder groups and sharing that we all approach choices differently.
• Committee members agreed to our Working Agreements, in alignment with the same agreements shared at Barrington 220 meetings.
• The Advisory Committee leadership shared analysis of the data gathered using Design Thinking in the previous meeting. Click here to view the report.
• The Advisory Committee leadership shared analysis of the focus group data gathered from meetings with parents, staff, and students. Click here to view the report.
• Dr. Devorah Heitner shared her research on social media and technology use by children and provided further background knowledge and focus group insights. Click here to view the report.
• Table groups reflected on these presentations and shared questions throughout the meeting.
• The Advisory Committee leadership shared next steps
  • All participants were invited to select three priority areas of interest
  • All participants were to receive a follow up email with resources and a reading guide for our book studies
• Every committee member was offered the opportunity to reflect and share feedback about the meeting.

The Social Media Awareness and Digital Citizenship Committee held its first meeting on October 22, 2024. Click here to view the meeting agenda. The goals of this meeting included:

• Introducing the Social Media Awareness and Digital Citizenship goals and timeline
• Investigating current, relevant research on the use of social media and technology in adolescents
• Identifying problems for the committee to solve and potential solutions
   

During the meeting: 

• Committee members participated in an Inclusion Activity focused on developing positive relationships at the table between our stakeholder groups and beginning to think about how students interact with their personal devices.
• Committee members agreed to our Working Agreements, in alignment with the same agreements shared at Barrington 220 meetings.
• The Advisory Committee leadership reviewed the presentation shared with the Board of Education on October 1, 2024.
• Each table group reviewed and shared insights into recent, relevant research ranging in scope from nation-wide to specific to Barrington 220.
• Each table participated in a Design Thinking Framework focused on three outcomes
  • First, a Empathy Map activity helped the group bring empathy to the challenges of using social media and technology as an adolescent.
  • Second, each group identified patterns in the Empathy Map that could be consolidated into problems the Advisory Committee wishes to solve.
  • Third, each group brainstormed and ranked possible solutions using an Eisenhower Matrix which measures Impact vs. Effort for each solution.
• The Advisory Committee leadership introduced the first two books that will serve as guiding documents for our work.
  • Growing Up in Public by Devorah Heitner
  • The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt 
• Every committee member was offered the opportunity to reflect and share feedback about the meeting.