Guidelines for Parent/Guardian Communications

Ethical Culture Fieldston School values transparent, timely, and respectful communication among our community.

As you will recall, the School launched the ECFS Family Communications Survey at the end of the academic year to understand the needs and preferences of our parents and guardians. The survey results, along with recommendations from the Communications Task Force, indicated that parents/guardians are interested in the continuation of online communities that promote communication among parents/guardians, and also that clear guidelines be articulated about the purpose of these groups and their appropriate use.

WhatsApp has served as a communication platform for parents/guardians at ECFS who choose to participate in various groups. ECFS will now serve as the system administrator for these groups, rather than individual parents/guardians creating and maintaining these online communities.

All members of the ECFS community participating in these groups are expected to adhere to ECFS policies, values, standards, and protocols, as outlined in the Enrollment Contract and the Divisional Student and Family Handbooks. For the avoidance of doubt, the following guidelines provide additional specificity:

Purpose and Focus

• Parent/guardian online communities are intended for communication related to our school community, school events, and information relevant to each grade or community interest group.
• Keep discussions focused on school matters; take personal or unrelated conversations to private messages.

Respect and Positivity

• Communicate with kindness, empathy, and respect at all times.
• Maintain a constructive and supportive tone; avoid criticism, negativity, gossip, and political rhetoric.
• Encourage a welcoming environment by ensuring all parents/guardians feel welcome, valued, and heard.

Appropriate Use

• Do not share confidential or sensitive information (e.g., student grades, disciplinary matters, family issues, etc).
• Do not use discriminatory, aggressive, insulting, or divisive language.
• Raise issues constructively, rather than singling out individuals.
• Do not post inflammatory statements or personal allegations about members of our community, the School, or external parties.
• Business promotions, solicitations, or fundraising are not permitted without prior approval from ECFS.
• Partnerships and connections to external organizations and parties are not permitted without prior approval from ECFS.
• Online communities are not a forum for speculation or the distribution of unverified information.

Handling Concerns and Conflicts

• If concerns arise, address them directly and privately with relevant ECFS faculty and staff.
• If in doubt about who to contact, please contact Chief Human Resources Officer and General Counsel Holly Jones at hjones@ecfs.org.

Community Building

• Share ideas for specific activities, events, and goals.
• Keep announcements clear, relevant, and limited to avoid information overload.
• Model community values: be caring, principled, open-minded, and supportive.

The above is not intended to be a comprehensive list of guidelines. The determination of prohibited use or objectionable content is at the sole discretion of ECFS, and the School reserves the right to delete comments and/or to remove or block users who create a disruption to the community. Threats, verbal abuse, or other violations of the above parameters may result in a user being removed or blocked from participation in online communities at ECFS.

Questions or concerns about School matters, including those involving School operations, curriculum, or individual student matters, should be directed to the appropriate ECFS administrator and not debated in the parent/guardian communication platform. All online activity is also subject to WhatsApp terms of service.