3.3.1 Social Media

Updated: September 2019

As an organization with a mission to educate boys, Crescent School’s standards for appropriate online communication are necessarily high. One of the challenges of the digital age is that everything we write or post online leaves a long-lasting and even permanent record that potentially can be seen by students, their families, and other members of the extended Crescent community. This is particularly true with social networking and media sites.

While the School respects the right of employees to use social media and networking sites, as well as personal websites and blogs, it is important that employees’ personal use of these sites does not damage the School’s reputation, its employees, or its students or their families. Employees should exercise care in setting appropriate boundaries between their personal and public online behaviour, understanding that what is private in the digital world often has the possibility of becoming public, even without their knowledge or consent.

All Crescent employees are governed by the School’s Acceptable Use of Technology Policy which requires respectful and responsible conduct. Employees are expected to use social media in ways that are consistent with the mission and vision of the School and that comply with the Ontario College of Teachers’ professional advisory entitled “Use of Electronic Communication and Social Media”. The off-duty conduct of our employees, regardless of job duties, matters and sound judgment and due care should be exercised by employees at all times, even when off-duty. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that a teacher’s off-duty conduct, even when not strictly an exercise of one’s job duties, is relevant to their suitability to teach.

Additionally,

An employee should not make statements that would violate any of the School’s policies, including its policies concerning discrimination or harassment;
An employee must uphold the School’s value of respect for the individual and avoid making defamatory statements about the School, its employees, its students, or their families;
An employee may not disclose any confidential information of the School or confidential information obtained during the course of their employment, about any individuals or organizations, including students and/or their families;
Electronic communications with students should be limited to appropriate times of the day and through established educational platforms. Maintaining a formal, courteous and professional tone in all communications with students will ensure that professional boundaries are maintained. Employees should model appropriate online behaviour;
The School expects all employees to periodically carefully review the privacy settings on any social media and networking sites they use (such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, TikTok etc.), and exercise care and good judgment when posting content and information on such sites;
Employees should assume that the information they post can be accessed by the School;
Employees should recognize that many former students have online connections with current students and that information shared between such staff and former students is likely to be seen by current students as well;
Employees should ensure that the content they post does not infringe on copyright or other intellectual property laws of any person;
Employees should recognize that anything posted online is traceable, even if deleted;
When using a social media site, an employee may not include current students as “friends,” “followers” or any other similar terminology used by various sites. Requests from alumni to “friend” a staff member are acceptable if the former student is over the age of 18;
If an employee has a community that extends to persons who are parents, alumni, or other members of the Crescent community, s/he must exercise good judgment about any content that is shared on the site.

If the School believes that an employee’s activity on a social networking site, blog, or personal website violates the School’s policies, the School may request that the employee cease such activity. Depending on the severity of the incident, the employee may be subject to disciplinary action up to and including termination of employment.

List of 3 items.

Social Media Guidelines

Social media creates many opportunities for enhancing education and making important connections with our community. We understand that many community members wish to share the School’s stories and events with audiences on social media platforms.

These guidelines are consistent with the School’s workplace standards on harassment, student relationships, conduct, professional communication, and confidentiality, and should guide your participation in social media, both personally and professionally. It is important to always remember who we are – people involved in the education and character development of young men – and our School’s role in the social media community: strengthening relationships within our community and strategically promoting and celebrating our School. Maintaining professional boundaries in all forms of communication is vital to maintaining appropriate professional relationships with students, parents/guardians and other stakeholders.

Have fun with social media, but be smart. Use sound judgment and common sense, bear in mind the School’s core values– respect, responsibility, honesty and compassion – and follow the same School policies that you follow in the offline world. Be mindful that as soon as you post something online you have lost control of who will see it and how it will be used.

We’ve put together the following guidelines to help you use social media effectively with your personal and professional reputation, and School policies in mind.
The Blurred Lines of Employee Social Media Activities

Our School respects the rights of our employees to use blogs and other social media tools as a form of self-expression, and also as a means to facilitate instruction and interact with other professionals. There is no longer a clear boundary between your personal life and your work life online. Be aware that you are responsible for understanding the implications of your online conversations referencing the School, its staff or students. Seemingly harmless comments could be misconstrued or manipulated resulting in harm to the School’s reputation or to other employees. Electronic messages are not anonymous.
Expectations for Personal Use of Social Media

You may think of your social media activity as solely personal and not connected to your professional self. Professional community or personal community – bear in mind that you represent Crescent School when you post pictures on Instagram, comment on posts on Facebook, network on LinkedIn or share your ideas on Twitter.