The contents of this page are as follows:
- Background
- Following CUSD300 on Facebook
- Following CUSD300 on Twitter
- Disclaimer and Statement of Expectations
BACKGROUND
Community Unit School District 300 (CUSD300) joined Twitter on August 31, 2009. This was announced in a special webcast from Superintendent Ken Arndt, which you can listen to here. Next, the District joined Facebook on April 30, 2010. Both forums are managed by the Department of Communication Services, which can be reached at 847.551.8344.
Click here to listen to a May 2010 radio interview with the students and staff who planned the CUSD300 Facebook page, featuring a discussion of the why's and how's of the District's use of social media. Click here to read a related article in the May 2010 edition of The Leader.
The primary target audience for CUSD300's Facebook and Twitter pages is adults, meaning parents, reporters, staff, and general community members. Students are a secondary target audience, to raise awareness of the issues and events going on in their school district.
The following are CUSD300's goals in using social media, to complement but not replace the District's traditional outreach efforts such as printed publications:
Primary Goals
1. Raise awareness in a timely manner of major votes and discussions by the full Board, as well as Board committee discussions
2. Increase community participation in District 300 decisions, events, and programs, especially those impacting student learning and achievement.
3. Share more of the good news coming out of individual D300 schools.
Secondary Goals
4. Provide updates on major health/safety situations.
5. Raise awareness of alumni activities.
6. Raise awareness of the D300 Foundation's activities and efforts.
7. Get informal feedback on major proposals.
FACEBOOK
If you do not have your own Facebook account, you can still visit CUSD300's Facebook page at your leisure to see recent updates. Simply click the Facebook button on the left side of the District's website homepage.
To automatically receive updates as soon as the District posts them to the CUSD300 Facebook page, and to comment on the content, you will need to sign up for your own Facebook account. After you have registered your account at www.facebook.com, search for CUSD300 (one word) and click the LIKE button to begin receiving CUSD300's updates on your own Facebook page.
For more information about Facebook, click here.
TWITTER
If you do not have your own Twitter account, you can still visit CUSD300's Twitter page at your leisure to see recent updates. Either visit www.twitter.com/cusd300, or simply click the Twitter button on the left side of the District's website homepage.
To automatically receive updates as soon as the District posts them to the CUSD300 Twitter page, and to comment on the content, you will need to sign up for your own Twitter account. Then click the "follow" button on our Twitter page, www.twitter.com/cusd300.
For more information about Twitter, click here.
DISCLAIMER AND STATEMENT OF EXPECTATIONS
Communication Services staff will make every effort to respond to questions on our Facebook and Twitter pages within two business days. However, because our resources are limited and the question may require research, more time may be needed. Your patience is appreciated. You are always welcome to call the District directly at 847.426.1300 with time-sensitive or private questions.
Community Unit School District 300 (CUSD300) welcomes the community's contributions to our Facebook and Twitter pages. However, community-contributed content on either of these pages is the opinion of the specific author and does not represent CUSD300. CUSD300 is not responsible or liable for the content of any separate Facebook or Twitter pages related in any way to CUSD300, such as a principal/school page, club page, or parent group's page.
CUSD300 abides by Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities, and the District asks its Twitter followers and Facebook fans to do the same. In particular, please do not post unauthorized commercial solicitations (such as SPAM); bully, intimidate, or harass any user; post content that is hateful, threatening, pornographic, or that contains nudity or graphic or gratuitous violence; or do anything unlawful, misleading, malicious, or discriminatory on CUSD300's Facebook page or Twitter page.
CUSD300 reserves the right, but is not obligated, to block followers/fans or remove their comments on our Facebook or Twitter pages that contain commercial solicitations, are factually erroneous or libelous, are clearly off-topic, or that otherwise violate Facebook's Statement of Rights and Responsibilities.
The District welcomes a healthy two-way dialogue with the CUSD300 community. However, personal insults against any individual -- whether the individual is an employee, student, parent, Board member, or other person -- are strictly prohibited. We strongly encourage all comments to be phrased respectfully, factually and constructively.
Parents/Guardians are given the opportunity to "opt out" of their child's images being published to the CUSD300 Facebook and Twitter pages when they complete the Permission Form in the 2010-2011 Parent/Guardian Handbook. To opt out, the parent should sign the STUDENT PHOTOGRAPHS & VIDEOS area of the form, indicating that he/she does "NOT allow the School District to release the name of my child and their image (photographic or video) to outside entities such as the news media and does NOT allow the School District to distribute my child's image through promotional print publications and social media sites (Facebook/Twitter)." However, when opting out, parents should keep in mind that the student's image will ALSO be prohibited from publication in all newspapers, all school and District newsletters, all school and District websites, and other school/District products.