Schools Beyond Screens Winchester

Advocating for safe and intentional tech in Winchester Public Schools

Schools around the world are adopting intentional, kid-centered policies for classroom tech.

School districts around the United States and beyond are pushing back against Big Tech's intrusion into children’s education. New York and Los Angeles, the two largest school districts in the country, have each enacted age-appropriate individual screen time guidelines across all grades. Recently, New York also enacted a moratorium on student-facing AI in grades K-8.

Meanwhile, in Winchester, there is no commitment to a timeline for making much-needed changes to our tech policy.

We were very encouraged when Winchester agreed to form a Tech Usage Committee last spring, yet we have started a new school year without any recommendations or changes from our district. Moreover, the School Committee and the Tech Usage Committee have not committed to any timeline for implementing changes.

Take action today to speak up for our kids.

Our stance is that our kids can't keep waiting. There is already abundant research showing that excessive [TODO]. Now is the time for concerned parents, educators, and residents to speak up.

How to Take Action

In the next School Committee meeting on Wednesday, September 23 at noon, the Tech Usage Committee will be presenting on the work they have done so far. We are using the meeting as an opportunity to urge the School Committee to commit to taking meaningful steps soon towards safer and more intentional tech policies in our classrooms.

🕐 If you have 30 minutes

Attend the School Committee Zoom meeting on Wed, 9/23 at 12pm and make a public comment. Each comment can be up to 3 minutes long, and the public comment will take place at the start of the meeting. We encourage you to sign up here, and contact us if you have questions.

⏳ If you have 5 minutes

Use the tool below to write a personalized message and send it to the School Committee and district leadership. Share an anecdote or personal perspective to explain why this matters to you.

⏱️ If you have 1 minute

Use the tool below to send our pre-written email to the School Committee and district leadership to show that you want them to take action.

Recipients

School Committee, T. Matthews, F. Hackett, J. Elineema

Subject

Personalized Paragraph

This is optional but highly recommended. Write a few sentences about yourself and why this issue matters to you. The paragraph will be inserted at the top of the email below, right after the salutation line.

Body

This is a starting point. Feel free to edit as you see fit.

Dear School Committee, Dr. Matthews, Dr. Hackett, and Dr. Elineema,

I am writing to express concern over the technology usage in our schools. I am grateful for the action taken to establish the Technology Usage Committee last year. However, we have now started a new school year without any recommendations or changes from our district. Moreover, the School Committee and Tech Usage Committee have not committed to any timeline for implementing changes. Our children should not need to keep waiting for safe and intentional tech policies. I urge you to take two meaningful steps in the next School Committee meeting on Wednesday, September 23rd:

1. Commit to delivering age-appropriate individual screen time limits by grade level no later than January 1, 2027.
2. Implement an immediate moratorium on AI usage in K-8 classrooms, effective until sufficient research has been done and data has been collected to prove whether and how this new technology belongs in these classrooms.

Thank you for the work you are doing on behalf of Winchester's children.

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