If you're working toward Common Sense recognition but your school is now closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, please visit the FAQ in the Help Center for suggestions for completion and further clarification.
What is a Common Sense School?
Common Sense Schools are committed to deep implementation of the Common Sense Digital Citizenship Curriculum. Earning the Common Sense School badge is a symbol of your school's dedication to helping students think critically and use technology responsibly to learn, create, and participate.
Why become a Common Sense School?
- Develop a roadmap to school and districtwide digital citizenship implementation.
- Support a healthy school culture where your whole community is invested in helping kids thrive as digital learners and citizens.
- Earn a badge that publicly affirms your school's commitment to schoolwide implementation.
How does a school earn recognition as a Common Sense School?
The Common Sense Recognition Program provides a roadmap for schools to adopt a whole-community approach to digital citizenship by completing three steps. We ask that you:
- LEARN by providing professional learning opportunities to educators.
- DO by implementing schoolwide digital citizenship through student instruction and family outreach.
- REFLECT on how becoming a Common Sense School has had an impact on your school community.
Criteria and resources for the three steps are outlined below, but if you're looking for more support, our Digital Citizenship Implementation Guide has everything you need to jump-start (or elevate) your digital citizenship practice. The guide includes a Common Sense School checklist, implementation models, an introduction to digital citizenship slides for staff, and more! Click here to view the full guide.
Criteria must be completed during the 2020-2021 school year. Applications are rolling and accepted between September 2020 and June 30, 2021.
Prep
Develop a Common Sense School implementation plan. You will be asked to enter the implementation details in the Common Sense School application. The implementation plan should include all criteria outlined in the following steps.
LEARN, DO, REFLECT
LEARN
Choose two professional learning opportunities for all educators leading digital citizenship instruction that support their learning goals and level up their teaching practice.
- Attend a professional development session by Common Sense staff, a Common Sense Ambassador, or a school project lead (in-person or virtually). This counts as two LEARN activities.
- Attend a Common Sense webinar. Viewing two Common Sense webinars counts as two LEARN activities.
- Attend a Distance Learning conversation. Two Distance Learning conversations count as one LEARN activity.
- Complete the online Digital Citizenship Curriculum Training.
- Complete the Student Data Privacy mini-course.
DO
Empower your students to be digital citizens with student-instruction using Common Sense Education resources, and take a whole community approach with family engagement.
Student Instruction: Schools have two options to meet student instruction criteria. Schools may teach digital citizenship lessons using a combination of Common Sense Education resources: Common Sense digital citizenship lessons, Digital Passport™ modules, or Digital Compass storylines.
- Teach all students on two grades levels: six digital citizenship lessons; OR
- teach all students on three grade levels: three digital citizenship lessons.
Family Engagement: Schools are asked to share with students' families how they are taking a Common Sense approach to digital citizenship and help families navigate the ups and downs of raising kids in the digital age using Common Sense resources. Complete at least three of the following activities to meet this requirement:
- Share resources from Wide Open School, a free collection of the best online learning experiences and activities for kids curated by our editors to help families adapt to online learning.
- Share the Common Sense Education Family Media Agreement.
- Share one or more Family Tip(s) that align with lessons taught in your classrooms.
- Share articles and parenting advice from Common Sense Media.
- Host an in-person event for parents, caregivers, and family members (with ready-made slides!).
- Invite families to participate in the Common Sense Tech Balance text program (for Elementary only).
We hope to learn more from you about your experience earning recognition as a Common Sense School. In the application, you will be asked to provide some details on how you feel the process of becoming a Common Sense School has impacted your school community.
Ready to get started?
All work must be completed before applying. You can begin this summer by tackling the LEARN step. Student instruction and parent outreach should be completed during the 2020–2021 school year. Applications to earn your 2020–2022 badge will be open in September.
Questions?
Please read through our FAQ in the Help Center. If you have further questions, please post in the Common Sense Education Community or email [email protected] and enter Recognition in the subject line.
