APS Guidelines Policy Practice Netiquette

APS Guidelines Arlington Public Schools recognizes that electronic mail ( ) is a valuable communication tool. Staff members are provided with district accounts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of communication both within the organization and with the broader community.

APS Guidelines Because electronic mail messages are routinely backed up to prevent loss of data in the event of a computer failure, users of electronic mail systems need to understand that information that has been "deleted" from one's own mail file may still exist in a "backed-up" form.

APS Guidelines A jury awarded the plaintiff $20 million in a gender discrimination case against USB Warburg. Driving the award was the fact that the company presented one view of its actions with the plaintiff, while recreated s demonstrated a vastly different picture of what occurred in the workplace.

APS Guidelines Users of our electronic mail system need to understand that any information may be discoverable in legal proceedings and available to other parties under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Electronic information that contains information related to a student’s education may also be considered part of an education record under the Family Educational Rights and Policy Act (FERPA).

APS Guidelines In 1995, Chevron settled a sexual harassment suit with four female employees for $2.2 million, in part because of dissemination of the Internet joke "25 reasons why beer is better than women."

APS Guidelines It is not the school system’s regular practice to access staff . However, the school system has the right to access and disclose the contents of staff messages as required by the system’s legal, audit, and legitimate operational purposes.

APS Guidelines As s are composed, it is important to remember that messages can be forwarded or distributed to other individuals, in whole or in part.

APS Guidelines A female employee sent a salacious and risqué joke to male colleague at work. From his work station, he forwarded it to 13 friends and colleagues in several different countries, who then forwarded it to more friends. At the end, it was estimated that 10 million people worldwide received it.

APS Guidelines When considering the security, privacy or confidentiality of anything sent via , it should be thought of as essentially the same as any other kind of mail; it is not completely secure.

APS Guidelines When It is not the school system’s regular practice to access staff . However, the school system has the right to access and disclose the contents of staff messages as required by the system’s legal, audit, and legitimate operational purposes.

APS Guidelines As s are composed, it is important to remember that messages can be forwarded or distributed to other individuals, in whole or in part. There should be no expectation of right to privacy in anything sent via , as it is not a secure form of communication.

APS Guidelines Because staff members are responsible for all sent from their account, they must take care to protect access to their account by keeping their password confidential and by logging off when they leave their computer, and keeping portable devices secure.

APS Guidelines One stolen laptop at the Veterans Administration had personal and confidential information on16,000 live patients and 2,000 deceased patients which was potentially compromised.

APS Guidelines Staff members should respond to s in a timely fashion, just as they would to a phone call or handwritten message, but the response does not have to be by . One may choose to respond in other ways (e.g., telephone call, note, conference).

APS Guidelines communication is most effective when it is brief, to the point and constructive in tone. If staff members receive that requires substantive discussion, they should follow up by phone or face-to-face. Topics should not be discussed in detail in .

APS Guidelines Parents are encouraged to use as a preliminary method of contact in order to set up a phone or face-to-face meeting.

APS Guidelines If parents are interested in receiving progress updates or other confidential information about their child through , APS staff should first receive acknowledgement from the parent that they understand is not a secure form of communication and that there can be no guarantee of privacy. For example: “I will be glad to you a weekly summary of J.L.’s progress, given that you understand that is not a private or secure form of communication.”

APS Guidelines When communicating student progress with parents, responses should consist of a brief summary statement. For example: “Good Afternoon. A.D. continues to make satisfactory progress in math. Classroom activities were completed on time today. However, A.D. needed verbal reminders to stay on task during social studies. Thanks for your support.”

APS Guidelines If a teacher chooses not to use as a communication tool or feels like the topic is too sensitive for an reply, here are a few generic responses:

APS Guidelines “Thank you for your . Given the nature of the communication, I would prefer not to respond to your concern by . In order to best address your concerns and quickly answer your questions, please feel free to call me at (insert phone number) and I will be happy to discuss this with you further. Thank you.”

APS Guidelines “Thank you for your . I feel this concern is too sensitive for . I would prefer to speak in person regarding this matter. I will call you on (state the date and time) to discuss this matter further. Thank you.”

APS Guidelines Information shared with parents should be relevant to the sender’s knowledge of the student, area of subject level expertise, and qualifications. messages should not contain identifying information about any student other than the parent’s child.

APS Guidelines If staff members feel parents are using excessively and/or inappropriately, they are encouraged to contact their immediate supervisor to address the situation.

APS Guidelines When replying to an with multiple carbon copies, you should only reply to the sender unless your response is pertinent to all the recipients of the original .

APS Guidelines messages should be formatted using professional practices for other written correspondence. Such practices include using proper spelling and grammar and not using slang or all capital letters. (Writing in capital letters is the equivalent of shouting.)

APS Guidelines Include a professional signature at the bottom of your , including your full name, job title and address.

APS Guidelines APS correspondence should never include: Gossip, malicious or slandering content Negative discussion Non-APS business

APS Guidelines Remember that is a quick way to send a message, but it is not necessarily the best way to send a message.