What Parents Are Saying about Connected Communities

Katey McPherson has been partnering with Daniela Simic of the Hillsborough County Council PTA for the last few years to deliver online safety education and awareness to parents in the community. With Daniela and the PTA’s support, Hillsborough County Public Schools brought Bark’s new Connected Communities program to the district in September of 2025, executing a parent night, a teacher breakfast professional development session and two days of student training at Macfarlane Park Elementary School.

Katey sat down with Daniela to hear how it went and share some highlights. Since Daniela’s son was a participant in the program, we can share insight into a parent’s perspective on the program!

Connected Communities offers on-site training, workshops, and skill-building activities for 4th and 5th graders that help students, parents, and educators develop confidence and competence in managing technology — especially around cell phone use and social media.

The below are excerpts from an interview with Daniela, edited for brevity.

What would you tell another parent whose school is thinking about introducing the program?

The program is focused not just on students, but on educating parents as well. It is really important to know what’s happening on social media, kids always know before we do.

It is focused on partnership between schools and parents. It is not fear based, but empowering parents. Educating them about what’s happening, and what’s available to monitor usage. I most appreciated that it educated not just students but also parents.

What makes this program stand out is that it isn’t about banning technology. A lot of programs or discussions out there are around how can we keep our children from using technology, when in reality they’re going to use it. So educating them on how they can use it appropriately, and ensuring guidelines are in place, is the right avenue rather than saying we aren’t going to use technology at all. There are either families who say we give up, my kid is going to use technology, oh well. Then there’s the other family that bans technology entirely. This program meets in the middle. Your kids will have access, and here’s how to do it safely.

What did this program have that other PTA programs you brought in didn’t?

It’s relatively new for families to be having these conversations within school with teachers and at home with kids. I personally haven’t had experience with another program who has offered digital safety lessons to parents as well as students.

What benefits did you experience as a parent of a kid who went through the Connected Communities program?

The program is extremely beneficial. It isn’t just about an app on your phone, or filtering access. It is about educating and ensuring that you know what’s happening. Something that was really interesting to me was my son’s take on this…he said that he feels like he didn’t know at first the social media he uses…he didn’t realize those apps have the potential for danger. He really liked learning how to block people that were being mean, and to report people being mean. He’s really into using Roblox safely.

Another thing that came from this is I decided to sit down and learn more about Roblox with him. I wouldn’t have done that prior to this program. Now we have a better relationship because he can talk to me about the different games he’s playing. I can understand what he’s talking about and ask him questions. I wouldn’t have known to ask these questions before.

I feel more comfortable about allowing him to use technology, before I was fearful. It has also allowed him to see it is not something he has to hide from me, or that he is being bad using technology. It has made him think more carefully about how safe it is. He is more self-aware and taking more accountability.

Find out more about Connected Communities for parents.