BVSD educator Jennifer Hanson champions online safety for children
Hanson recognized with award from members of Congress in Washington D.C.
BOULDER—Jennifer Hanson, a BVSD educator was selected by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children® (NCMEC) and the Qwest Foundation for her online safety efforts geared for kids and families. Hanson was honored by members of Congress in Washington, D.C. on April 4 by U.S. Reps Mark Udall and Ed Perlmutter who presented Hanson with the “Qwest Spirit of Online Safety Award.”
“Jennifer has organized major parent and educator training sessions both within the district and across the state; student
education and awareness programs in BVSD and curriculum resource development in the area of internet safety,” said Len Scrogan, InstructionTechnology Director at Boulder Valley School District.
“Jennifer also led efforts to establish a first-in-the-nation Internet Safety Summit, bringing local, state, and national law enforcement entities together with educators and resource organizations to promote the safe use of the Internet by children,” said Scrogan.
Hanson is an educator with seven years of classroom experience in Denver’s Cherry Creek Public School District, and she currently works as an Instructional Technology Specialist with Boulder Valley School District. She is actively involved with Project Safe Childhood, a project introduced by the U.S. Attorney General. Her involvement with Project Safe Childhood led to her leadership of the Colorado Internet Safety Foundation, a non-profit organization she leads as president. Its purpose is to form public-private partnerships in Colorado to promote Internet safety. In her role with the Internet Safety Foundation, Hanson organized the Internet Safety Summit. One of the first of its kind in Colorado, the summit was a statewide gathering of law enforcement, school officials and community members focused entirely on Internet safety and how to improve education in their respective communities.
Hanson, a member of the Qwest Online Safety Coalition helps promote children’s internet safety by being a leader and creating methods by which families can teach their kids to practice safety protocols while using the internet.
“We salute you and your understanding of related issues as well as your effort to reach a solution,” said Paula Kruger, Executive Vice President, Mass Markets Qwest Communications.
“We have been impressed with her efforts to promote safe online practices in the role as president of the Internet Safety Foundation and in your position as Technology Specialist for the Boulder Valley Public Schools.” Kruger added that Hanson was held a pivotal role in producing the Internet Safety Summit in Boulder last spring.
NCMEC also announced the expansion of NetSmartz411, an online Internet safety resource that now includes a bilingual telephone hotline. Qwest recently announced a $350,000 contribution which brings the Qwest Foundation’s investment in NetSmartz411 to $850,000. Created and managed by NCMEC, NetSmartz411 debuted as an online helpdesk at NetSmartz411.org in February 2007. In the first year, it received more than 256,000 visitors who submitted nearly 1,000 questions that covered topics like cyberbullying, wireless mobile devices, online gaming, social networking and virtual worlds.
As a public service to further help families surf safer and smarter on the Internet, Qwest Communications is providing families with a free online safety tip card developed with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Relevant resources are featured in the links below.
• Downloadable tip card: http://www.incredibleinternet.com/user_files/file_15.pdf
• Links to related resources:
http://www.incredibleinternet.com/
http://www.netsmartz411.org/