Like any other speaker during public comment at Fredericksburg City School Board meetings, Whitney Kitt was afforded three minutes to say her piece.
That wasn’t quite enough time to recite her sixth-grade son’s YouTube history, as accessed on his school-issued laptop last Thursday.
“At 8:15, watch every Josh Allen interception,” Kitt read. “8:17, Search for Josh Allen highlights vs. Jalen Hurts. 8:18, watch Josh Allen feed milk to Lamar Jackson after Bills’ comeback win over Ravens. 8:19, Watch Mac McClung make his debut with Pacers. 8:19, search Mac McClung. 8:19, watch Mac McClung dunk contest 2023. 8:20, watch Jayden Daniels help the Eagles win the Super Bowl: NFL shorts.”
“That is first period.”
Kitt continued reading, even after the buzzer sounded and the school board clerk interjected: “Time.” She noted that her son also has access to the Tubi app on his school-issued device, which features prominently R-rated movies like “The Hateful Eight” and several mature television series.
“I just challenge the school division to do something about YouTube access,” Kitt said Monday. “We’ve already gotten rid of cellphones, but my son can access things he cannot access at home without being supervised by me as an engaged parent.”
Holly Clark, who has three children in city schools, including two at Walker-Grant Middle, also expressed concerns about technology usage. Clark recalled asking her daughter Lucy, a sixth grader, what books she checked out during a recent class visit to the school library.
“She said, ‘I didn’t get a book, because I just played games on the computer,’” Clark said.
Such extensive access to online games and sites like YouTube can make it difficult for even the most diligent students to focus on learning, she added.
“My kid loves to read,” she said. “But I don’t give my kids a plate of vegetables with a Twinkie on the plate. The vegetables are going to taste terrible.”
At the end of the meeting, Ward 4 representative Malvina Kay, who won re-election on Tuesday, requested that staff return in December with plans to remove YouTube and games from school computers and/or to add parental controls.
“I was one of the board members who was so excited when we started giving out the little laptops to elementary children,” Kay said. “But then to sit here tonight and hear that they’re playing games and looking at YouTube, it doesn’t sit well.
“Parents brought to us the issue with cellphones, and now they’re bringing to us the issue with their computers. It seems like an easy fix to me, so that’s why I’m asking for a presentation.”
AI-powered app serves as a ‘safety net’
Trouble sleeping and a lack of friends are two of the biggest issues vexing city students.
That’s according to data from Alongside, a “digital wellness platform” available to students in grades 4-12. While the application is powered by AI, FCPS Director of Student Services Maris Wyatt noted that all prompts are developed by licensed clinicians.
“Unlike social companion bots, Alongside does not pretend to be real or emotionally attached,” Wyatt said.
Wyatt said that the division uses Alongside as a “safety net,” catching students that “may have fallen through the cracks” with traditional mental health supports. Whenever the app identifies a safety issue, it notifies a human counselor, with an average response time of under 15 minutes.
So far, 15 students have been flagged for potentially severe issues, with 11 cases warranting the creation of safety plans, Wyatt said.
“That’s 11 students who were essentially saved with the safety plan, versus when they weren’t going to notify an adult or talk to somebody about,” she said.
The division held two informational sessions for parents and families about how to use the app, and Wyatt said all students can opt in or out of the program at any time.
Wyatt also announced that FCPS was recently awarded a $268,000 telehealth grant that it plans to put toward no-cost counseling for students. Students will be able to participate from counseling offices or in another “safe space,” Wyatt said.
