Warwick Public Schools
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Published – September 29, 2022
Warwick Public Schools is partnering with Panorama, an independent education technology company, to enhance social-emotional learning and improve student behaviors. However, one parent believes the program violates student privacy and federal laws.
The Warwick Beacon reports, “A Warwick mother [Tara Levasseur] is looking to have her daughter opt out of a school program…that would provide personal information to the School Department that she claims is in violation of federal law.”
Warwick’s curriculum director, Lisa Schultz, sees Panorama as a helpful tool and program that “pulls together student data to give a ‘visual’ of how they are performing. It also generates displays of colored bars indicating levels of performance for a class or school.”
Levasseur did not disagree with Schultz but reiterated her concerns with the behavioral surveys that collect information without permission from a parent or guardian. Levasseur further speculated how Panorama could be used to compile data regarding students’ family and home life, use of illegal substances, and sexuality.
Panorama’s FAQ page says it only collects and uses student data for the purposes of serving schools and districts that are contracted with the organization. Panorama states that it does not initiate or solicit information from its academic partners. However, it does keep an active record of school survey results, test scores, as well as gender and demographic information “in order to support [districts’] educational services and drive positive outcomes for their students.
When Levasseur discovered a new social, emotional learning (SEL) program component had been added, “she called department administrators and found their answers inconsistent with what the School Committee was told in April when the Panorama program was approve[d],” according to the Warwick Beacon.
Warwick’s District Strategic Plan shows Panorama is already in use to capture baseline metrics, such as student suspensions. Schultz was unable to confirm which components the department would use in upcoming school years, but assured Levasseur she would be able to opt her daughter out of the survey program.
Warwick Public Schools has 8,140 students enrolled in PK and K-12 across 18 schools.
