MOLINE, ILLINOIS -- With social media growing in popularity, the Moline - Coal Valley school district wants parents to be able to outsmart their kids' smart phones. It's part of the district's "Parent YOUniversity", where they give parents information to help their child be successful at school and at home.
Topics include mental health awareness and resources, family and community resources, school avoidance and truancy support, substance abuse awareness, social media and cyberbullying.
"We are really trying to empower parents to be present for their kids and to help them tackle some of today's challenges," Moline Assistant Superintendent Pupil Personnel, Kristin Sanders said.
At the seminar, parents learned about social media apps and how to find hidden pictures or messages on phones and apps.
"Social media causes additional stresses for students at home and causes additional stresses for us at school," Sanders said. "We see that it has such a huge impact on them. Kids are taking school home with them, because they are always on their phones, so it's 24/7, they never get away from it."
Parents also learned about putting parental blocks on cell phones, social media statistics, and when to have the school or police get involved.
"I feel better, because now I know what some of these kids now a days are doing," Murillo said.
In the second part of the class, parents learned about truancy and how much school can students really miss.
The next class for parents will be on April 7th, 2020, at Moline High School.