LPOSD announces safety summit

SANDPOINT — Lake Pend Oreille School District staff and administrators will host parents March 18 for a 5:30-7 p.m. student safety summit at Sandpoint High School centered on the risks of excessive technology exposure. 

District staff and guest speakers will examine the mental health implications of social media, suicide, sexting, the permanence of digital images and phone-based vs. play-based childhood. Dinner and childcare will be provided.

“I want to encourage parents to attend because these topics are so important to our local families,” said Dr. Becky Meyer, LPOSD superintendent. “We’re providing actionable information to help parents protect their children, and to ensure that schools and parents are on the same page.” 

Attendees will also explore social psychologist Johnathan Haidt’s 2024 book “The Anxious Generation,” in which Haidt argues that smartphones have detrimental effects on children's mental health. 

“Reading ‘The Anxious Generation’ opened my eyes even further to the effects of a phone-based childhood and the implications on a student’s wellbeing,” Meyer said. “As a district, we want to help empower parents with knowledge for how to navigate this new paradigm.”