Your/your student's privacy and safety are important to us. Here are the top 3 things you need to know about The Commons.
The Commons is not tracking your/your student's location.
You are still able to contact your student throughout the school day.
The Commons app does not share your/your student's location, activity, or personal information with the school.
Read below for more information.
1. The Commons is not stealing your information. One thing that’s important to know is that some of Apple’s and Android's permission prompts use standardized language that app developers aren’t able to customize. The wording can sound much broader than how The Commons actually uses those permissions.
Specifically, the following permissions are required to use the app:
Location → Geofencing requires the device’s location services to be active. The location data stays on the device and is never sent to The Commons’ servers. Instead, the app uses Apple and Android’s approved geofencing technology, where iOS and Android itself check when the device enters or leaves the defined school zone and simply tells the app to turn on or off – that’s the extent of the information passed along.
VPN and Screen Time work together to enforce the school’s phone policy during the school day by blocking distracting apps and websites. These permissions do not share any information about which apps students use, what websites they visit, or any content on their device.
Motion and Fitness → This is probably the most confusing permission because of Apple's wording. The Commons does not access health or fitness information. This optional permission simply helps the app operate more efficiently in the background and reduces battery usage. The terms refer to the phone, not the user.
Notifications → Used to remind students if a required permission has been turned off or another action is needed to keep the app working properly.
2. There are a couple of ways in which you can get in touch with your child throughout the school day.
Call the front office. You can contact the front office to get a message to your student
Send an email. Students have access to their school email addresses via their district-issued Chromebooks
Text or call. Although phones must remain out of reach and out of sight for the entirety of the school day, you can still call and send text messages to your student while The Commons is active. Students can view any missed calls or messages once they are dismissed for the day.
3. The Commons App tells the school two things: whether it is active and whether the required permissions are turned on. That’s it. The Commons privacy policy explains exactly what information the app uses and how. Schools are governed by very strict privacy laws known as Family Educational Rights and Privacy regulations; we would not be allowed to use the app if it violated any of those laws.
Sincerely,
District Administration