A new state law requires all school systems to teach students in grades six through twelve about internet safety and success in life beginning this school year.
“The Success Sequence” teaches students that graduating high school, going to college, or entering the workforce, getting married, and having children in that order, leads to better outcomes in life. Pickett County Director of Schools Melissa Robbins said the school system will use the topic to focus on the success of the students.
“Just thinking about things that help our students,” Robbins said. “So, stating it in that particular order, I don’t know if it has to be stated that way, but our outcomes for are kids, we definitely want those to be successful.”
Robbins said “The Success Sequence” will be implemented into the family studies course. Robbins said for Pickett County Schools and most school districts, teaching internet safety to students is nothing new.
“We’ve always worked on just talking to our students and making sure they understand the ramifications of social media, as well as internet safety and what to do on the internet,” Robbins said.
Robbins said it is important to teach students about internet safety, as most students have access to a computer throughout the school day. Robbins said there are some guardrails set by the state when teaching internet safety and “The Success Sequence”. Robbins said the goal is always to stay within those boundaries.
“We are always gonna look at those and make sure we follow within the parameters of what the state is asking us to do,” Robbins said. “But a lot of things that we see are already what is best for kids anyway.”
Robbins said the school board and administrators worked together to figure out how to implement the new law.
