Schools will host Internet safety class

By Candace Sipos -- csipos@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- It's a first for the region's U.S. attorney's office, but officials hope it won't be the last.

The office for the Western District of Virginia will partner with Winchester Public Schools for the first time to present a class designed for parents about how to keep their kids safe online.

U.S. Attorney Tim Heaphy and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Healey will present the class at Daniel Morgan Middle School on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Healey is an expert in child predation cases, according to a news release issued by the school system.

Gwen Mason, community ourtreach coordinator for Heaphy's office, said officials made some contacts with school personnel at a community meeting last year.

"This is our maiden voyage out," she said. "They're helping us sort of be the first community by which we're presenting this information."

She wrote in an email that parents and teachers are constantly interested in Internet safety tips, and the office deals heavily with the results of unsafe practices.

While the city wasn't chosen because it has a higher frequency of such crimes, "our district has a constant stream of child exploitation cases," she wrote.

"Thanks to the cooperative work of local child safety task forces and local law enforcement, our office continues to vigorously prosecute individuals who have the goal of exploiting children," she added.

Although this is the first such class for the U.S. attorney's office in the city, the Winchester school system has been holding classes on Internet safety annually for about six years, said Steve Muller, director of technology.

"The tough thing is that turnout tends to be rather low," he said, noting that a similar class held by Frederick County Public Schools a couple of months ago drew only six people.

But he has hopes that the federal prosecutors' presence might help to fill chairs.

"These are the folks that actually do some of the prosecution," he said. "They're certainly very much aware of what's going on out there now."

He noted that Internet safety is a core part of technology instruction for all pupils, but sometimes those tips don't make it to the parents.

"We're really trying to reach out and make parents aware of the need to be involved with their kids," he said.

Although he wouldn't speak about specific instances or statistics, he said the city school system has had incidents of online bullying in the past.

According to the news release, the class topics will cover texting, cellphone use, social networking, cyber bullying and protecting personal information.