A Cambridge mother says her two children came home from school, multiple times, saying inappropriate photos and videos were being looked at while in the classroom.
Joanna Reaume says her kids have seen students look up inappropriate content – in class.
They attend grades four and five at Clemens Mill Public School in Cambridge.
“They had seen things on the internet at school that were either obscene, racist, pornographic, just inappropriate for school,” said Reaume.
“I felt that the school board ... basically lost my trust as a parent,” she said.
Reaume is concerned the school board doesn’t have strong enough online security.
“We do block pornography, absolutely. If you're asking the question ‘is it 100% perfect?’ I would have to say no,” said Mark Carbone, Chief Information Officer at the Waterloo Regional District School Board.
The school board says they use firewalls, content filtering and Google safe search.
“In today's world, we can't make that guarantee that it’s perfect and that’s why multifaceted program is so important for staff and students,” said Carbone.
The program includes staff training, guidelines for students and parent awareness.
“Our approach to ensuring that students are safe while accessing electronic media and electronic devices is not just around the technical aspect of filtering, but also around self-development,” said Lila Read, Superintendent of Education.
Reaume says for now, she won’t allow her children to use the computers while at school, and is doing her part at home.
She has met with the board to bring up her concerns.
