Willow Road students get lesson in cyber safety

Child Abuse Prevention Services (CAPS) developed a new Internet safety program for 5th graders called cyberSMARTZ, and is now offering the workshop at no cost to all elementary schools in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

Over 100 students at the Willow Road School participated in Internet safety programs during the week of Jan.19.

CAPS is a Long Island organization dedicated to preventing child abuse and neglect, and provides in-classroom, youth violence prevention and child safety education to all Long Island schools at no cost.

“We need to work more with students to encourage civility, empathy and compassion in their online and digital communications,” said Alane Fagin, executive director of CAPS. The organization’s Internet safety programs “were developed to teach kids responsible online behavior so they do no harm to themselves or to others. The important lesson for them is to think before they click.”

Thanks in part to grants and donations, CAPS professionally-trained volunteers can provide cyberSMARTZ to Long Island public and private elementary schools at no cost.

“CAPS relies on our dedicated corps of volunteers to present cyberSMARTZ as well as our other prevention-through-education programs,” said Fagin, “but the growing demand by Long Island schools also means a greater need for additional volunteers to join our organization. In fact in recent school years, CAPS was asked to present in more than 1,800 classrooms to over 37,000 students, grades K-12, so we encourage people who have an interest in working with children to learn more about volunteering for CAPS.”

Founded in 1982, the Roslyn-based Child Abuse Prevention Services is dedicated to the prevention of child abuse, bullying, cyber-bullying, peer harassment, sexual harassment, date/acquaintance rape, and Internet safety through education in the classroom. It is a non-profit underwritten by private donations, grants and legislative appropriations. Information about programs, educational materials and volunteer opportunities are available at www.capsli.org or by calling (516) 621-0552.