Mike Phillips, Chief of Investigations for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, spoke to parents and students on both campuses about Internet safety and online privacy concerns. Phillips has worked in law enforcement for over 23 years and has been a part of the computer crimes task force for the past 12 years

In two parent workshops and three student assemblies, Phillips addressed dangers including cyber-bullying, child pornography, best practices for parents/children, sexting, and other risks associated with online activities.

Phillips spoke to audiences of students (3rd through 12th grade) and parents. Quite frankly, his presentation raised serious concerns about the online safety of our students. We wish that every DWS parent had been able to come.

Agent Phillips was impressed with our students’ receptivity and politeness. However, he was very concerned that many of our 3rd through 5th graders indicated that they have Facebook accounts (the minimum age is supposed to be 13). He also became aware that many of our students do not have the appropriate privacy settings in place on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts.

Parents – we urge you to get involved in your youngsters’ online lives. Agent Phillips related stories about kids just like ours falling prey to unscrupulous individuals online, sometimes at the cost of great risk to their lives, reputations, and safety.

Please click the links to the right to access some of the resources that our speaker left.

Also, please be on the lookout for announcements about the next Parents Association/Booster Club Parent Workshop.