Remember that time … when a friend of yours posted a work photo onto their personal Facebook account, and tagged you – and it wasn’t a great photo – and dozens of people liked it before you even saw it?
It’s not all that dissimilar from the viewpoint of some students.
LPS Communications strongly recommends having clear boundaries between your professional or personal social media accounts – and not mixing those accounts. Teachers and staff should take extra precautions before posting photos of students to their social media accounts.
When it’s ok
- When the student’s family has given consent via the media permissions form (on the student census) most often signed at the beginning of a school year. (If a student says no, then remove or don’t post the photo.)
- When the teacher has created or uses a social media account for the SOLE purpose of promoting their classroom or school activities (indicate this in the account bio).
- When the students and families also know that this account exists and your purpose for the account.
When it’s not ok
- When a teacher or staff member intermixes classroom photos with personal content (pets, pics of family and friends, comments on other posts, complaints about weather, hair, politics, referees, traffic, etc.)
- When a teacher or staff member thinks the consent form covers ALL possible uses of photos
So, what are your best options going forward?
1 – Contribute to your school’s social media accounts, then share or retweet those social media messages on your own account (even from your personal account). Be clear with students about why you might be taking photos or video during class.
2 – Use a social media account explicitly for the promotion of your classroom or school projects and activities. Never post anything of a personal nature. Be clear with all involved they have a choice.
