by Stephen Luckey ‘15

After Superintendent Joshua Starr released an open letter to the public regarding a social media incident, MCPS has embarked on an effort to form a task force in which parents, students and adults will develop strategies to raise awareness of the need for cybercivility in MCPS online communication. With almost 200 volunteers, the group will have arranged gatherings once every month.

The issue of cybercivility was prompted after a bitter cold morning last December when some students took to Twitter and attacked Starr with vulgar and threatening remarks for not canceling school promptly. On December 13, Starr sent out a letter to the community condemning the tweets as offensive and disturbing. He also stated the need for a community-wide dialogue on how to teach students to be safe and civil online.

The Cybercivility Task Force will guide the creation of tools that encourage conversations on the use of social media and other technologies. “The Cybercivility Task Force will be a critical resource in our ongoing efforts to help our students understand how to use technology and social media appropriately,” said Starr in a MCPS press release. “This work isn’t easy, but it is my hope that we can help school communities and families talk about how to use social media in positive and productive ways.”