Outschool wants to support its instructors in assisting their learners inside and outside the classroom. Instructors may sometimes be asked to provide educational credentials or write letters of recommendation for their learner families.
Teachers can now provide limited personal information directly to parents, as documented in conversations in Outschool communications, to help with these educational purposes.
Instructors must follow mandated guidelines for Keeping All Communication on Outschool and transparently minimize sharing “Personal Information” as outlined in our Community Standards, Golden Rules, Privacy Policy, and Safety Standards for Teachers.
Suppose a teacher is asked – and then chooses to provide credentials, recommendations, or other materials for outside educational purposes; how can an educator help a family this way while still adhering to Outschool’s safety policies? First, it is essential to understand that fulfilling such requests is always at an instructor’s discretion. In cases where educational assistance is warranted and a teacher agrees to help, the instructor must adhere to Outschool’s safety standards, which protect professional boundaries while still fostering good customer service, building positive classroom relationships, and a secure classroom.
1. Credentials or Diplomas: (no sharing of unknown Personal Information needed):
Teachers can provide their public teaching certificates, credentials, or diplomas without notice to Outschool. These may include limited personal information such as full names, localities, and family references. Teachers should upload the information directly to another adult through the Parent/Teacher Conversations tab and avoid sending it to learners.
2. General Letters of Recommendation, Student Evaluations, References, etc.
In cases where families request a letter of recommendation for their learner, teachers may exchange information with the parent so that they can write a letter that includes their full professional name, the learner's full name (as provided by a parent in their initial request to an instructor), and any other needed credentials such as email addresses, mailing addresses, and phone numbers. As a best practice to help authenticate, teachers may include links to their Outschool teacher profile on the platform and relevant classes to verify their professional involvement.
Letters can, preferably, be uploaded directly to the requesting adult through their Parent/Teacher Conversations tab.
Similar recommendations or reference letters may also be sent directly to third parties. You don't need permission. Outschool will allow teachers to share any required information using their private teaching email or by following direct links to the general admissions office, reference organizations, scholarship committees, etc.
When exchanging and sharing this information, teachers must continue to adhere to the Outschool Terms of Service, Privacy, and Safety Policies and Keep All Communication on Outschool.
Teachers, in sharing information with families, must remember that:
- Sharing and exchanging information should only be done at the request of a parent to help a learner's family.
- All information should be transparently documented in the "Parent Conversation Tab" on the Outschool Messaging System. Please fully document the request in writing, detailing what will be shared and how it will help the learner. If a parent requests this information through any other means (like during class or through the child), please transparently document things within the parent conversation tab so all information is easily seen in context.
- Never share personal information with a learner under any circumstances.
- Any personal information shared is at the discretion of a teacher who will establish their professional boundaries. Teachers should be mindful of security and cautious in what information they share in a cyber environment; teachers are reminded that Outschool will not intervene if issues arise off-platform.
- Teachers should tell families that they are allowed to share information only to assist the learner with the goal of that professional reference or recommendation, etc. Teachers should remind families that all future interactions, such as classes, business, payment, and communications, will continue to remain solely on Outschool.
Any violations or deviations from these protocols may result in a Trust & Safety STRIKE, account restrictions, or even immediate removal from the Outschool Platform.
3. Requests from Parents or Adults to Teach Learners Over 18 Outside the Platform:
While teachers should refrain from actively advertising outside businesses on Outschool, educators may respond to such inquiries if an adult or aged-out learner (19 or older) requests instruction for subjects/ages not supported on the Outschool platform.
No permissions are needed from Trust & Safety; an educator, at their discretion and in “good faith,” may now share limited personal information (including their name, private business information, or email) with an inquiring adult or 19-year-old earner in response to such specific questions. l
Teachers will not be penalized for accommodating these non-competing adult learner requests, but they should remind adults that they cannot remain on the platform. Teachers should never knowingly teach an adult on the Outschool platform, and any adult learners should be reported to Trust & Safety.
Teachers should never share personal information about outside business with current or eligible Outschool learners; all classes and future communications must remain on the Outschool platform. Outschool will enforce its policies when there are violations. Directing business, payments, or classes off the platform for current Outschool users may result in a STRIKE with disciplinary actions or even immediate removal from the Outschool Platform.
For everyone's safety, teachers should never share personal information with minor learners under any circumstances.
Just to remind you, Outschool won't intervene when problems arise from off-platform interactions and activities. Therefore, we'd like to remind our users that for Outschool-related business issues, all communications should be kept on Outschool.
4. Parent/Teacher Conference Policy & Sharing Outside Educational Resources with Parents:
To help teachers foster relationships and meet a family’s educational needs, Outschool now allows educators to address parents during live private tutoring classes. For these 1-on-1 classes only, parents/guardians, with a teacher's permission, may reasonably interact on camera so the adults can converse to ask questions, share information, plan, or receive updates involving the learner. Discussions must be child-centered and are always at a teacher’s discretion. Teachers should be mindful of Outschool’s Teacher Safety Policies and commit to maintaining our standards about sharing Personal Information for Educational Purposes and Keeping All Communications on Outschool, as any violations of those standards will be enforced.
No other types of off-platform video, phone, or in-person meetups (other than at officially sanctioned Outschool activities) are allowed.
Teachers may share educational resources and relevant third-party tools as resources directly with parents for educational purposes. In those cases, teachers should always do so transparently in context and through the "Parent Conversation Tab" (never with a minor learner) to determine the relevance for their own family. Links must be educational or provide supplemental enhancement to classroom learning. All Communication Standards and Safety Policies must be followed, including sharing personal information for educational purposes.
5. Mailing Addresses and Websites for Kits & Class Project Materials
Materials and exchanging mailing addresses or websites may sometimes be necessary for a class.
If you want the learners to use a resource that cannot be purchased from other vendors, you should include the information and build the price of this resource in the class cost. If you require a kit to run your class or send out a final project, you must include the price and the exact list of materials included in the kit or project when submitting your class for approval. In those cases, you may privately message parents with links to your website for kit purchases because you only direct parents to your external website for that sole purpose; you agree not to collect their data or contact them for any other reason.
In all cases, if a website or mailing address is needed to send out materials to a family, be transparent in always directing any inquiries and correspondences only to the adult through the "Parent Communications Tab" (never to a minor child). You'll need to conduct all conversations about sharing that information on the platform and easily identify in the context of the educational need outlined in the class description. As a teacher, you agree not to use an external website or the "snail-mail" address except to send the family the materials as outlined in your class descriptions.
Keep in mind that Outschool enforces its safety policies. Violations of those terms could result in a “Strike,” which could lead to restrictions or removal of a teaching account. Anyone not adhering to Outschool’s protocols may be warned or removed from the site.