The following message is from Clayton Valley Charter High School:
Dear CVCHS Parents:
We have all seen the news reports about the uptick in fights on school campuses in California and around the nation. The trend of using violence as a means to resolve disputes has been exacerbated through student use of social media to bully, air grievances, post disparaging videos, and threaten harm.
Unfortunately, this trend that has been increasing in the area has come to CVCHS. We need your help to stop it.
Today, another fight occurred on campus leading to police involvement. This behavior will never be tolerated and any threats to student safety will be taken with the utmost seriousness, dealt with swiftly, and resolved.
The origin of every fight on campus this year has been traced by our administrators back to social media. Our team needs your help to identify threats on social before they escalate into violence. If you become aware of a situation on social media that may need intervention, please email or text info@claytonvalley.org. Any and all tips will be kept confidential.
Tomorrow, we will be addressing this issue directly with students during first-period announcements empowering them to bring any information forward anonymously.
Our students have been under tremendous stress since March 2020. Reliance on social media for personal interactions increased during the time of distance learning when school campuses were closed. However, this reliance has come at a cost. Extensive research has demonstrated that greater dependency on social media results in depression, anxiety, and the worst outcome of all – suicide. Over the past two decades, suicide rates increased 87 percent for females aged 15-24 and by 30 percent for males aged 15-24.
CVCHS has invested heavily in mitigating the social-emotional impacts of the past two years on our students. We have two licensed Marriage & Family Therapists (MFT) on staff to help students resolve issues. This month, our MFTs are beginning their group sessions for students. There are seven counselors on campus and we have numerous trained staff members equipped to assist students. In addition, we are increasing campus supervision by hiring additional personnel.
As we have asked numerous times before, please take time to discuss social media use together with your student. We know these are sometimes hard conversions to have but they are necessary. One talk might be all it takes to prevent an undesirable outcome.
Attached is a copy of “The Impact of Social Media on Teens” published by the University of Utah Huntsman Mental Health Institute. From the article, we are including these tips for you to consider implementing at home.
Tips for Healthy Social Media Use:
We all know how the algorithm works—the more you look at your phone, the more it will send compelling content to keep your eyes from looking away. It’s hard to break habits of checking TikTok or Instagram and constantly refreshing to see more, but it’s important to take time away for our mental and physical health. Parents can set a good example through their own virtual behavior. Here are a few things you can do:
Delete the social media apps from your phone. You don’t have to delete your account, but deleting the apps from your phone will take away the urge to refresh the page every time you unlock your device.
Leave devices at home. Spend time with your friends and family and leave the devices at home. We all know how hard it is to ditch your phone, but try it and you will find how much more present you are with your surroundings.
Disable your notifications. Head to your settings portal and turn off notifications from your social media apps. Without the constant reminders, you will find yourself checking in less.
Limit time. Turn time controls on so that when you reach your limit, you are kicked out of the app.
Thank you for your time, consideration, and assistance. It takes an active and involved community to assist us in keeping our campus a safe place to learn.
Should you have any questions or further concerns, please email info@claytonvalley.org and a member of the CVCHS team will contact you as soon as possible. Thank you for your support and assistance.
Sincerely,
CVCHS Administration
