The North Thurston Public Schools Board of Directors recognizes that an effective public education system develops students who are globally aware, civically engaged, and capable of managing their lives and careers. The Board also believes that students need to be proficient and safe users of information, media, and technology to succeed in a digital world.

District educational technology provides a powerful and compelling means for students to learn core subjects and applied skills in relevant and rigorous ways. The district’s goal is to provide students with rich and ample opportunities to use technology for important purposes in schools, just as individuals in workplaces and other real-life settings use these tools. The district’s technology enables both educators and students to communicate, learn, share, collaborate, and create; think and solve problems; manage their work; and take ownership of their lives.

Digital Citizenship

Digital citizenship includes the norms of appropriate, responsible, and healthy behavior related to current technology use. Successful, technologically fluent digital citizens recognize and value the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living, learning, and working in an interconnected digital world. They cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation, and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world. Expectations for student and staff behavior online are no different from face-to-face interactions.

Digital Resources

All use of the district technology must support education and be consistent with the mission of the district. In using district electronic resources, students should accept responsibility to:

• Be held strictly responsible for all activity that takes place on their accounts and devices;
• Not attempt to access other users' accounts, files, or misrepresent them on the network;
• Be aware the district has the right to examine all data created on, posted, stored on, or transmitted by the network or district devices;
• Respect all internet filter and network security measures and not attempt to bypass those protections;
• Not attach any unauthorized devices or install any software on district computers or network without permission from technology services;
• Not use any district resources for cyberbullying, impersonating others, hate mail, harassment, or intimidation of any kind.

Policies & Procedure

For more expectations and information about Electronic Resources and Digital Citizenship, please see NTPS Policy 2022 and Procedure 2022P.