SEND TO
D97 Administrators:
Patrick Robinson, interim co-superintendent probinson@op97.org
Dr. Griff Powell, interim co-superintendent gpowell@op97.org
Michele Capio, director of student wellness mcapio@op97.org
Will Brackett, director of technology wbrackett@op97.org
Michael Arensdorff, chief technology officer marensdorff@op97.org
D97 School Board:
Cheree Moore, president cmoore1@op97.org
Jung Kim, vice president jkim@op97.org
Venus Hurd Johnson, vice president vhurdjohnson@op97.org
Nancy Ross Dribin nrossdribin@op97.org
Gavin Kearney gkearney@op97.org
Becky Perez bperez1@op97.org
Holly Spurlock hspurlock@op97.org
Dear NAME HERE,
I am the parent of [your child’s name] at [school name], and I am excited by the recent collaboration between District 97 and Screen Sense Oak Park, now represented by over 1300 signatures on our Change.org petition. While the district is making steps in the right direction by updating policies and expectations, our organization believes more can be done. In light of national and international news, as well as a growing body of medical and public health research findings, it is very appropriate to take more dramatic action in a return to analog learning.
Growing evidence has shown the harms to brain development and behavior by allowing children to spend too much time on digital devices. As parents, much responsibility of teaching our children healthy digital habits rests on us. However, since children spend 6-7 hours per day at school and the school issues them electronic devices, developing healthy tech habits must also be a focus in every D97 classroom as well. It is essential that we implement best practices for tech usage, not only at home, but also at school.
We began issuing iPads to kindergarteners in 2020, and screen overuse and misuse has gotten out of control since then, yet parents and teachers are not given adequate training, guidelines or even basic up-to-date information for using these devices safely and sparingly. Screen Sense Oak Park is planning to fill some of this gap by setting up parent trainings next school year, in collaboration with district PTOs. We look forward to support and involvement from D97 on this, and we are excited that—for the first time since before the pandemic—D97 will finally be reinstating the iLearn97 Advisory Committee with student, staff and family involvement to weigh in on use of edtech.
The School Board and Administration must create, communicate and implement clear policies to promote best practices for technology use. Following such policies will allow our children to develop sustained, focused attention spans and limit the harmful effects of too much technology use. Before school year 2026-2027, I request D97 develop and enforce strong comprehensive guidelines on appropriate screen time—both for district devices and personal devices—ensuring that these standards are informed by educational experts and parental input.
Keep district devices at school overnight and on weekends, except for families that opt in to having them sent home; give analog homework through middle school
Refrain from giving students 1:1 district devices until at least third grade
Create a bell-to-bell ban on personal device access for all D97 schools
Ban all device use during periods of free time, indoor recess, brain breaks and PBIS rewards (personal and district devices)
Eliminate access to non-educational and pseudo-educational apps (ex: GimKit and Blooket and CoolMathGames)
Restrict access to online content (ex: YouTube, Reddit, Minecraft, any and all social media)
Publish teacher guidelines for intentional screen use and appropriate use of analog learning as the default, to minimize distraction and student screen addiction
Send parents weekly reports on screen time including information on their child’s screen use, as well as classroom and grade level data
We parents no longer want to see hours of screen time as a primary means of learning and recreation each school day. We no longer want to see children huddled around screens during recess or free time. We no longer want to see our children exiting the school building with their faces glued to a screen. We respectfully insist that the District implement its own Acceptable Use policy to use digital devices solely for educational purposes and implement best practices to promote the skills required for promoting students’ digital health.
Respectfully,
[your name]