communications
Social Media Policies and Guidelines
Social Media Policy and Guidelines for Staff
School Policies Regarding Social Networks
Individual Accountability: St. Anne’s School of Annapolis staff members are personally responsible for the content that they post, share and respond to online. When posting online, all information is considered representative of your views and opinions and not those of St. Anne’s School of Annapolis.
Photography/Videos: Before posting photographs and videos, permission should be sought from the subject where possible. Consult the “No Photograph List” in the Communications Office prior to posting digital media containing images of students. Ensure digital pictures are appropriate for viewing by students, parents and colleagues.
Confidential Information: Online postings and conversations are not private. Do not share confidential information, internal School discussions, or specific information about students or other staff members.
School Logos: Do not use any School logo or image without permission. If you wish to promote a specific St. Anne’s School activity or event, please contact Caitlin Reiss, Director of Communications at creiss@St.AnnesSchool.org for permission or provide a link to the official St. Anne’s School Facebook or Twitter page.
Student-Staff Relations: Accepting invitations to social networking sites from students or alumni under the age of 18 is strongly discouraged.
Staff-Parent Relations: We recognize that many members of our community are both staff members as well as parents or alumni parents. With this in mind, we ask that staff join the social networks of parents at their own discretion. Do not feel obliged to accept a social networking invitation from parent or other staff member. You should never discuss sensitive School matters with parents using Facebook, blogs, and other social media outlets. Please refer to the staff handbook for more information about parent communications.
Inappropriate Behavior: In the online environment, staff must follow all St. Anne’s School of Annapolis policies and conduct himself/herself online as in School. Please refer to the staff handbook for additional guidelines pertaining to professional behavior.
Guidelines for Acceptable Behavior on Social Networks
Privacy: When posting, even on the strictest settings, staff should act on the assumption that all postings are in the public domain. In microblogging (Twitter etc.), comments made using such media are not protected by privacy settings. Staff members should be aware of the public and widespread nature of such media and refrain from any comment that could be deemed unprofessional.
Profiles: Ensure your profiles and related content is consistent with how you wish to present yourself with colleagues, parents and students. Use caution and discretion when setting up your profiles. When uploading digital pictures that represent yourself make sure you select a School appropriate images. Remind your network friends of your position as an educator whose profile current and former students may access.
Professionalism: By virtue of identifying yourself as St. Anne’s School of Annapolis staff member online, you are now connected to colleagues, students, parents and the School community. You should ensure that content associated with you is consistent with your work at St. Anne’s School of Annapolis. Comments related to the School should always meet the highest standards of professional discretion. Audiences who may read your posts could include current and prospective students, faculty, staff, donors, alumni, parents and the media. Post only information that you would want to share with them.
School Values: St. Anne’s School of Annapolis encourages staff to set and maintain high ethical standards in their use of social networking. Staff, parents and students reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. Be respectful of the opinions of others in your posts or comments. Under no circumstances should offensive comments be made about students, parents or colleagues nor the School in general. If responding to someone with whom you disagree, remember to be respectful. Make sure that criticism is constructive and not hurtful. Your posts and comments should help build and support the School community. Do not comment on nor forward unsupported information, e.g. rumors.
Inappropriate Content: Consider carefully what you post through comments and photos. Even though you are of legal age, photographs relating to alcohol or other age-restricted activities may be deemed inappropriate. Do not use ethnic slurs, innuendos or any other inappropriate content. Do not use profane or threatening language. Remember that students may use your behavior on online social networks as a model.
Social Media Guidelines for Parents
School Policies Regarding Social Networks
Individual Accountability: St. Anne’s School of Annapolis parents are personally responsible for the content that they post, share and respond to online. When posting online, all information is considered representative of your views and opinions and not those of St. Anne’s School of Annapolis.
Confidential Information: Online postings and conversations are not private. Do not share confidential information, internal School discussions, or specific information about students, staff or other parents.
School Logos: Do not use any School logo or image without permission. If you wish to promote a specific St. Anne’s School activity or event, please contact Caitlin Reiss, Director of Communications at creiss@St.AnnesSchool.org for permission or provide a link to the official St. Anne’s School Facebook or Twitter page.
Staff-Parent Relations: We recognize that many members of our community are both staff members as well as parents or alumni parents. With this in mind, we ask that parents join the social networking site of faculty and staff with discretion. Parents should keep in mind that faculty and staff members are not required to accept invitations from parents, and should respect each individual staff member’s personal preferences concerning their social networks. You should never discuss sensitive School matters with staff or other parents using Facebook, blogs and other social media outlets.
Guidelines for Acceptable Behavior on Social Networks
Privacy: When posting, even on the strictest settings, parents should act on the assumption that all postings are in the public domain. In microblogging (Twitter etc.), comments made using such media are not protected by privacy settings.
School Values: St. Anne’s School of Annapolis encourages parents to set and maintain high ethical standards in their use of social networking. Staff, parents, and students reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. Be respectful of the opinions of others in your posts or comments. Under no circumstances should offensive comments be made about students, parents or staff nor the School in general. If responding to someone with whom you disagree, remember to be respectful. Make sure that criticism is constructive and not hurtful. Your posts and comments should help build and support the School community. Do not comment on nor forward unsupported information, e.g. rumors.
Inappropriate Content: Even though you are of legal age, consider carefully what you post through comments and photos regarding alcohol and other age-restricted activities. Do not use ethnic slurs, innuendos or any other inappropriate content. Do not use profane or threatening language.
Social Media Guidelines for Students
School Policies Regarding Social Networks
Age Restrictions: St. Anne’s School of Annapolis acknowledges that many social network sites require members to be at least 13 years of age. We encourage students to adhere the policies of these sites.
Individual Accountability: St. Anne’s School of Annapolis students are personally responsible for the content that they post, share and respond to online. When posting online, all information is considered representative of your views and opinions and not those of St. Anne’s School of Annapolis.
Confidential Information: Online postings and conversations are not private. Do not share confidential information, internal School discussions or specific information about other students or staff.
School Logos: Use of St. Anne’s School logos or images on your personal social networking sites is prohibited. If you wish to promote a specific St. Anne’s School activity, event or posting, you may do so only by a means of a link to the official St. Anne’s School Facebook or Twitter account.
Student-Staff Relations: Inviting staff members to join your social network is strongly discouraged. Please respect the privacy of staff members and their preferences regarding their social networks.
Inappropriate Behavior: The core values of St. Anne’s School apply to student behavior both on and off campus. In the online environment, students must follow all St. Anne’s School of Annapolis policies and conduct himself/herself as in School. The School will work in partnership with parents to monitor behavior that negatively affects our students or reflects poorly on the values of our school, and students may face consequence for behavior that violates our values and policies.
Guidelines for Acceptable Behavior on Social Networks
Privacy: When posting, even on the strictest settings, students should act on the assumption that all postings are in the public domain. In microblogging (Twitter etc.), comments made using such media are not protected by privacy settings.
Profiles: Ensure your profile and related content is consistent with how you wish to present yourself with colleagues, parents, and students.
School Values: St. Anne’s School of Annapolis encourages parents to set and maintain high ethical standards in their use of social networking. Staff, parents, and students reflect a diverse set of customs, values and points of view. Be respectful of the opinions of others in your posts or comments. Under no circumstances should offensive comments be made about students, parents or staff nor the School in general. If responding to someone with whom you disagree, remember to be respectful. Make sure that criticism is constructive and not hurtful. Your posts and comments should help build and support the School community. Do not comment on nor forward unsupported information, e.g. rumors.
Inappropriate Content: Do not use ethnic slurs, innuendos or any other inappropriate content. Do not use profane or threatening language. If you come across inappropriate material that makes you feel uncomfortable, or is not respectful, tell your parents or a teacher right away.
Public Information and Responsibly: Social media venues are public and information can be shared beyond your control. Be conscious of what you post online, as you will leave a long-lasting impression on many different audiences. Do not post anything you wouldn't want friends, enemies, parents, teachers, or a future employer to see. Do not post or link anything (photos, videos, web pages, audio files, forums, groups, fan pages etc.) to your social networking sites that you wouldn’t want friends, peers, parents, teachers, admissions officers or future employers to access.
Safety: Never give out personal information, including, but not limited to, last names, phone numbers, addresses or exact birthdates. Do not share your password with anyone besides your parents. Only accept social network invitations from people you know. If you feel unsafe online, tell your parents or a trusted adult right away.