How Harrisburg Academy, an International Baccalaureate (IB) School, is Empowering Students to Navigate Online Drama and Digital Distractions
Group chat drama making its way into the classroom. Late-night scrolling impacting students’ sleep. Frequent notifications that make it hard for students to focus on assignments. These are just a few examples of how tech can impact students’ well-being and their ability to learn.
72% of high school teachers and 33% of middle school teachers say digital distractions are a major problem in their classroom. However, cell phones can be valuable tools for making connecting with others and organizing daily tasks easier.
So, how can schools ensure students are focused and engaged during the school day, while empowered to use technology positively and responsibly outside of the classroom?
Harrisburg Academy saw challenges in their school with digital distractions and online drama impacting students’ learning in the classroom. To address this, they partnered with The Social Institute to empower students to use social media and tech in ways that support well-being and learning. The Social Institute talked with Sarah Oatney-Weiler, the Head of Early Childhood and Lower School at Harrisburg Academy, to see how #WinAtSocial supports their school community.
Supporting Classroom Tech Policies and Navigating Digital Distractions
Harrisburg Academy, located in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, is the 17th oldest Independent School in the United States at 240 years old. The school is a full continuum International Baccalaureate (IB) School, where they run their IB program from preschool to 12th grade. This program provides students with rigorous courses that equip them with the skills needed for success, in and out of the classroom.
As an IB school, Harrisburg Academy’s mission is to equip students with real-world problem-solving skills to prepare for life beyond the classroom. However, Weiler saw tech challenges, like digital distractions and group chat drama, impact students’ well-being and their ability to learn. Recognizing that students live in a world fueled by technology, Harrisburg partnered with The Social Institute to empower students to use tech tools in ways that fuel their success.
“We were looking for something to help us think about how we take a policy stance on students’ interaction online with technology and social media. We knew it was important to not only have a policy around tech but to back it up with education as well.”
The Social Institute’s mission is to equip students with life skills for the modern day. One way they do this is through Seven Social Standards. These standards are not just rules for students to follow–they are practices that students are empowered to live by. At Harrisburg Academy, they address digital distractions through one of the Social Standards, Strike a Balance. When students are empowered to strike a balance, they are mindful of screen time, prioritize face-to-face interactions, and take tech breaks when they need to focus.
Addressing Online Drama and Fostering Open Conversations
Harrisburg Academy not only saw a need to help their students strike a balance with tech and social media to create more engaged classrooms, but they also recognized the need to help students make high-character decisions online. They saw students’ behavior online, outside of school, impact their well-being in the classroom.
Weiler noticed that social media impacts her students’ confidence and their ability to form relationships. Sometimes, she’d even see students struggle to learn after staying up late on their devices. “We’re seeing the impact [tech] has on students showing up at school, in terms of their physical well-being. Did they have their phones with them all night? Were they scrolling and not getting enough sleep? We’re also looking at mental well-being in terms of how students feel about themselves, their self-confidence, and how they cultivate healthy relationships.”
To better support student learning and well-being, Harrisburg implemented #WinAtSocial Lessons throughout grades 3-12. With #WinAtSocial’s tiered and developmentally appropriate approach, Harrisburg Academy equips students with modern life skills essential for students at every grade level. For example, students in grades 3-4 run lessons on the importance of making good choices and the power of kindness, while high school students run lessons on topics like college prep and navigating A.I. These lessons are tailored to address timely topics that students in each grade are navigating.
“What The Social Institute is doing is really responding to our contemporary times and the issues that schools are facing. Something that happened on Sunday night at home when students were messaging each other in the group chat or commenting on somebody else’s post shows up when they get to school because it affects their relationships. So, we were looking for a partnership that helped them navigate that aspect of their lives.”
To kick off their partnership, Harrisburg Academy brought in Caitlin Dallmeyer, a social media and tech expert from The Social Institute, to huddle with students. By combining this custom experience with #WinAtSocial Lessons, students have a great space for open discussions about their social worlds.
“Caitlin came and kicked off #WinAtSocial as a guest speaker, and her first audience was students,” Weiler stated. “It was something students connected with, and I think that was really helpful.”
The Social Institute helped Harrisburg students understand how online drama starts, how they can prevent it, and how they can navigate arguments if they arise. “The session explored how people can interpret things differently in group chats. As [Caitlin] was talking about this, you could see the kids’ reactions, and the adults had such a strong reaction as well.” During this custom experience, Weiler was surprised to learn that many students believe ending a text with a period makes the message seem aggressive. However, most of the educators saw nothing wrong with doing that, and the class huddled together on why that was.
The experience hit home and fostered open conversations among the students and educators at Harrisburg Academy. “I think students are starting to see that we can talk about [tech and well-being] at school with one another, and we needed this to happen.” Because of #WinAtSocial Lessons and coaching sessions, Harrisburg students are comfortable discussing social media, technology, and their impact on well-being with educators.
Involving Families in Social Media and Tech Education
Weiler knows that to empower students to live in high-character ways, #WinAtSocial Huddles must continue at home with families. Parents expressed to Weiler that they were worried about what students are doing online, and how that impacts their health, happiness, and ability to learn:
“I’ve seen a lot of worry from families not knowing what the different apps and trends are. Snapchat, for instance, they’re like: What is this? How does it work? What should I know? Those are the kinds of things I hear and see people reacting to.”
The Social Institute understands the importance of equipping the entire school community. As part of Harrisburg Academy’s partnership, all adults in the school community have access to the Social Toolkit. This equips families and educators with Platform Playbooks, which contain expert breakdowns and insights on 50+ popular student apps, like Snapchat, and Family Huddles, which are discussion questions for families to have at home based on lessons run in class.
“[#WinAtSocial] is a great program to partner with so that you don’t have to try to pull relevant resources for students and families.” Weiler shared. “It is all there and it’s been tailored for this specific purpose. It is really relevant, and it addresses the kinds of situations and dilemmas that we’re all facing, and specifically students are facing, and giving some tools to be able to navigate it.”
Through #WinAtSocial, Harrisburg equips their entire community to form strong relationships with others and make healthy choices online and offline. Find out how you can help your students be future-ready with essential modern life skills by requesting a demo of #WinAtSocial for your classroom today!
Check out students’ and educators’ favorite #WinAtSocial Lessons:
- Trending Lesson for grades 9-12:
- Trending Lesson for grades 5-8:
- Trending Lesson for grades 3-4:
The Social Institute (TSI) is the leader in empowering students by understanding students. Through #WinAtSocial, our gamified, peer-to-peer learning platform, we equip students, educators, and families to navigate their social world – in the classroom and beyond, online and offline – in healthy, high-character ways. Our unique, student-respected approach empowers and equips, rather than scares and restricts. We incorporate timely topics about social media, tech use, and current events that are impacting student well-being and learning. #WinAtSocial Lessons teach life skills for the modern day, capture student voice, and provide school leaders with actionable insights. Through these insights, students play an essential role in school efforts to support their own health, happiness, and future success as we enable high-impact teaching, meaningful family conversations, and a healthy school culture.