As children across the U.S. go back to school this month, Symantec is helping to make sure they are prepared. Through backpack and school supply drives for local children in need and cyber education tools for parents and children, Symantec is working to make sure every student is ready for class.
This month students across the U.S. head back to school and Symantec is focused on keeping them safe online, and prepared for the classroom. While some students need school supplies to start their school year off right, others need to learn a few essential cyber basics to enable them to explore the digital world safely.
Symantec provides school supplies for kids in need
Symantec’s Consumer Business Unit in Mountain View, California is hosting a virtual backpack drive to help send low-income children back to school with the essential, grade-appropriate supplies they need to succeed. Symantec has partnered with the Family Giving Tree, a nonprofit that has served more than one million Bay Area children from low-income families since 1990. In 2016, the demand from schools and agencies was greater than ever and more than 39,000 backpacks filled with supplies were delivered to students in grades K – 12 who were enrolled in the Federal Free or Reduced Price Meal Program. Backpacks with STEM supplies can cost between $50 (Elementary) and $95 (High School) dollars, and students without a calculator, protractor, or compass have a hard time learning geometry or algebra, participating in the classroom, and completing their homework. For children living in poverty, a lack of crucial school supplies means they start their school year off at a large disadvantage.
Symantec’s virtual Backpack Tree hopes to empower a low-income high school student to graduate, equip two middle school students with the tools needed to succeed in the classroom, provide five elementary school students with fundamental school supplies, and fill an entire classroom with the supplies needed to elevate their learning.
Symantec’s Tempe, Arizona office also hosted a schools supply drive and wrote hand-written notes for the students at Curry Elementary. The office provided a financial donation to the school to use for whatever they need, which meant buying new shoes for all of the students in 2016. Curry Elementary is located right down the street from Symantec’s Tempe office and is a Title 1 school; out of the 539 students 23% are limited in English proficiency and 81% have subsidized lunches. We have worked with the school for the past few years, first as LifeLock and now as Symantec, providing much needed resources for the cash-strapped public school, and opportunities for the students to start their school year off with items they desperately need.
Symantec provides resources to keep kids safe online
As children head back to school, they also face increasing threats that emerge as a result of cyber behavior. Cybercrime is a multibillion-dollar industry and hackers exploit poor cyber habits, including those of children. According to a recent Norton survey, 60% of parents worldwide allow their children access to the Internet before age 11. These children are often on a quest to constantly learn new things, and may unintentionally engage in risky online behavior, like inadvertently disclosing too much information. Even though 78% of parents agree that children today face more online risks than children five years ago, only 50% check their children’s browser history and 46% limit access to certain websites and apps.1
This month, children will be accessing the Internet from numerous devices, including computers and tablets at school, messaging each other through the newest social media sites and downloading the latest apps. We believe that, in the same way that we educate our children about other risks, it is imperative that we educate them about avoiding online dangers. Symantec has developed free cyber safety educational tools for parents to address new and emerging risks to children's online safety, including a guide to identify the signs of cyberbullying and how to start a conversation about it. To learn more and download the guide, visit Norton.com/cyberbullying. For children not yet using technology, we provide tips on how to decide when a child is ready for technology and offer free Cyber Safety Guides for grade school kids, middle school kids, and high school students.
The Smart Talk, another online tool, is designed to help parents empower their children to become smart digital citizens in an increasingly connected world. It’s the result of a collaboration between LifeLock, a Symantec company, and the National PTA, and gets parents and kids together for a conversation about being responsible with new technology. Parents and children answer a series of questions together to make sure everyone is on the same page, and through The Smart Talk parents can print out their Internet rules agreement and posit it where the whole family can see it.
You can visit Norton’s Kid Safety Security Center to read more about keep kids safe online, and we wish you all a safe and successful school year.
