Email can be forwarded to hundreds of people, in and out of the school—and text messages can be revealed in court. Be especially careful about material that would violate a student’s, parent’s or other employee’s privacy. Please be aware that even messages or documents which may be considered “informal,” “casual” or “personal” may need to be retained by the school and shared in any litigation matters, as required by Federal regulations. As such, when communicating via email concerning any school-related business to fellow employees, students or families, all employees must use the email account provided by the school, e.g., @genevaschooltx.org.
All users are expected to abide by the generally accepted rules of network etiquette. These include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Use appropriate language. Do not swear, use vulgarities or any other unacceptable language.
- Be careful with humor and sarcasm.
- Do not type in ALL CAPS as it appears that the author is shouting.
- When responding to an upset parent, it is often wise to have a colleague read the response before sending it. Also, a face-to-face meeting is often a better way to resolve a difficult situation.