Is it appropriate for a high school teacher to give his cell phone number to his students?

[Anonymous]

School does not use Team Snap/other apps because they are trying to get kids to check their email (building life skills) so most communication for teams is via email with parents copied about 75% of the time. Kids email teachers and coaches all the time without copying parents. Occasional texts between coaches to captains along the lines of “please tell team to meet in weight room” or “bus is here” or “remind team about XYZ.” Kids will also text coach with last minute “can’t make practice” because the coach is more likely to see that (vs email).

Coaches go through screening and background checks before hiring as well as lots of training (for teachers too) about expectations re what is and is not appropriate interaction with kids. If a teacher or coach was texting a kid 1:1 with any degree of consistency—especially if it’s the coach initiating the convo, that would be a hard no but that’s different.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP
These are examples of communication:
"I have a family matter this evening so Coach Tom will be leading practice."

"Practice is canceled due to lightning."

"Please attend this Thursday's practice as we will discuss important team news."

On the messaging end
"I can't attend practice because we'll be out of town"
"OK thanks for letting me know"

"Am I at the wrong field?"
"It's on the other side of the school"

I can't help but agree with the poster who does not see this as grooming. Obviously, casual texting with more details/ lengthy back and forth would be a different matter but this is helpful and has been normal in our experience.

+1
Exactly and parents are allowed to be on the main chat if they want to although I odn't know if any one actually is. Kids do privately message the coach if they can't message practice sometimes.

Y'all are missing the point.

Your kid's coach may not be a groomer. S/he probably isn't! They are probably a great person, most coaches are! But the fact that this is practice is normalized is what allows groomers access to kids without their parents knowing what's going on. Unless safeguards are in place that everyone follows, INCLUDING THE COACHES WHO ARE NOT PEDOPHILES, then children will be harmed. Maybe not your kid. But someone's kid.

Get it?

THANK YOU. EXACTLY. The point is to teach the kids that adults don't need private access to them. All the messages the earlier PP mentions can be done on whatsapp, Remind, TeamSnap, group text w/ parent, whatever. You need the good guys to do things correctly (ie not communicate directly w/ kids w/o parents) so the kids can easier identify bad ones.

100%

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School does not use Team Snap/other apps because they are trying to get kids to check their email (building life skills) so most communication for teams is via email with parents copied about 75% of the time. Kids email teachers and coaches all the time without copying parents. Occasional texts between coaches to captains along the lines of “please tell team to meet in weight room” or “bus is here” or “remind team about XYZ.” Kids will also text coach with last minute “can’t make practice” because the coach is more likely to see that (vs email).

Coaches go through screening and background checks before hiring as well as lots of training (for teachers too) about expectations re what is and is not appropriate interaction with kids. If a teacher or coach was texting a kid 1:1 with any degree of consistency—especially if it’s the coach initiating the convo, that would be a hard no but that’s different.

I am mostly ok with email from an employer. I work for APS, all of our email is backed up. Anything inappropriate is discoverable. Not true for private emails/texts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coach, perfectly fine. My middle schooler and my high schooler both have their coaches cell number. How else are they supposed to let them know they have to miss practice or are late and need let into the gym or whatever ?

These comments are ridiculous. Some of you are so paranoid.

Coaches can use apps to communicate with their team.

Kids just don’t check those very often, so then the coaches end up texting everyone to check the group page/app.

That's why you also email the parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is sad that we have come to this point in our society. IMO it is very nice that a teacher is doing everything they can to be reachable and responsive to students, including providing personal contact info. My kids have some teachers at are unresponsive to emails.

“Come to (what) point?”

You preferred the good old days when there were no safeguards in place to protect kids from molesters, the good old days when we just hushed it up?

[Anonymous]

Any adult who communicates with a child or children in small groups, without that conversation being observed or recorded by another trusted adult, should be reported to the overseeing authority immediately.

It's too risky not too.

As a volunteer with children, I have unfortunately missed some opportunities to help children because of lack of communication access, because it was too cumbersome to get parental contact info, and it's not OK to have private correct info for the children. But that's the tradeoff to maintain a safe culture where children don't get accustomed to having private communication with adults, which some of those adults will exploit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School does not use Team Snap/other apps because they are trying to get kids to check their email (building life skills) so most communication for teams is via email with parents copied about 75% of the time. Kids email teachers and coaches all the time without copying parents. Occasional texts between coaches to captains along the lines of “please tell team to meet in weight room” or “bus is here” or “remind team about XYZ.” Kids will also text coach with last minute “can’t make practice” because the coach is more likely to see that (vs email).

Coaches go through screening and background checks before hiring as well as lots of training (for teachers too) about expectations re what is and is not appropriate interaction with kids. If a teacher or coach was texting a kid 1:1 with any degree of consistency—especially if it’s the coach initiating the convo, that would be a hard no but that’s different.

School email is recorded. Texting with children is not acceptable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son’s middle Middle school soccer coach has team Numbers and they have his and are in a group text chat. Some coaches use snap chat or other social media groups to communicate with team. I don’t see anything wrong with it.

SafeSport does not allow this - any communication with a player from a coach MUST include the parent

This must be specific to middle school bc high school is definitely not like this.

SafeSport covers all kids though high school.

Our hs doesn’t follow safe sport and the coach did a private group and refused parents in. Our private team still sends the emails to the parents.

Report that groomer to the principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Coach, perfectly fine. My middle schooler and my high schooler both have their coaches cell number. How else are they supposed to let them know they have to miss practice or are late and need let into the gym or whatever ?

These comments are ridiculous. Some of you are so paranoid.

DD’s team uses slack. Parents have access to it as well. I would not be okay with teachers or coaches communicating directly with minors. They should also be aware of the need to protect themselves and not communicate privately with the kids.

For regular communication and game/practice info sure (I think mine use the Band app) but both of my kids have their coaches cell and vice versa. It is mainly for short practical connections like I mentioned above. No one thinks anything of it - maybe bc my daughters coaches are women.

This is a public school.

Women have been known to abuse and traffic children as well. There's a long famous thread on DCUM about some famous Virginia lady from a famous family who was caught trafficking girls.

Ask yourself why a coach would allow a communication that didn't include a parent. There is no innocent reason to exclude parents.
You can mute the texts if your want.

[Anonymous]

Also Ghislaine Maxwell.