Google Workspace for Education

This site will guide students and parents in our district in their understanding of what technology services will be provided to them by Google on behalf of the Wenatchee School District.

What is Google Workspace?

Google Workspace allows Wenatchee Schools to give Google's communication and collaboration applications to our entire education community for free. All services are hosted by Wenatchees G-Suite domain and are available to students and staff via any computer and many mobile devices.  Google Privacy and Security Agreements for Google Workspace for Education which fully comply with FERPA.

Training for all Google Apps

Google Workspace Status Dashboard

Google Workspace includes the following services:

• Gmail - provides gigabytes of email storage, highly effective spam filtering and powerful search.
• Calendar - allows easy coordination of work or class schedules, meetings and events online.
• Drive - allows users to create and collaborate on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and drawings in real-time as well as upload and share any file type. Allows students to maintain electronic student portfolios of work which is preserved for the entire time they are a student within our schools.
• Sites - develop and customize rich websites and embed Google Docs, Google Calendars, videos, and other media – no HTML required
• Other tools and add-ons may be made available to students in our Google Workspace @wenatcheeschools.org domain. These tools will be reviewed and selected by the Google Workspace Domain Administrators.

Who will receive a Google Workspace account?

• Staff Members and Students
  • All staff members will receive a Google Workspace account. All staff member accounts will be hosted in the @wenatcheeschools.org domain provided by the district.
  • Before any anyone is given access a Google Workspace account, the Technology Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) for Students must be understood, this policy is Wenatchee School District board policy 2022 and procedure 2022p.
• Grades K - 5
  • All students in grades K - 5 will receive a Google Workspace account, that will include Gmail access for internal communication only.
• Grades 6 - 12
  • Students in grades 6-12 will receive a Google Workspace account and access to Gmail for school use.  By using our systems students are given these accounts to access many curricular services. This email can be used for student systems and communication from and within the Wenatchee School District, but students will be able to send and recieve from outside email accounts.

Am I able to opt my student out of the Google Workspace program?

A student can be opted out of participating in the Google Workspace program at any time. Parents/guardians always have a right to determine what is best for their student(s). A parent can opt their student out of the program. Parents may request to opt out by using the Student Google Workspace Opt-Out Form,  it must be submitted in writing with a guardian signature to your student's school office.

The decision to opt a student out of the Google Workspace program may have drastic academic implications as these systems are heavily leveraged by staff and students for learning. Parents/guardians are encouraged to consult the student's teachers to discuss the implications of this decision and to discuss appropriate alternatives.

Does Wenatchee's Google Workspace program comply with Google's stated age restrictions?

Students under age 13 ordinarily need parent permission to have email accounts, as stated in Google's privacy policy. However since the Google Workspace tools that we are using are a secure environment controlled by WSD staff, COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) allows the School District to act as the parents'/guardians' agent and approve the accounts on their behalf. To be COPPA compliant, We must provide an opt out process and have done that (see above).  In addition only students over the age of 13 will be receiving the email access within their account, and for any student under 13 we will be seeking parental consent for those services.  Google Privacy and Security Agreements for Google Workspace for Education

Will I have access to my student's Google account?

Parents/guardians are encouraged to communicate directly with their student(s) to acquire Google Workspace account login information. Each student has the ability to manage his/her Google Workspace account password.

If a student is unable or unwilling to provide a password to parents/guardians, parents are encouraged to contact the Google Workspace Domain Administrator via email to have the password reassigned to allow the parent/guardian full access to the account.

The Google Workspace accounts are property of the Wenatchee School District. This means that content in these accounts may be accessed or searched by designated Wenatchee employees (IT Staff, Administrators, etc.) in accordance with Board of Education Acceptable Use Policy 2022.

As the provider of these services, the Wenatchee School District has included several safety and educational features in Google Workspace:

• Parents, guardians, and administrators may request access to student’s Google Workspace account from a Google Workspace Domain Administrator via email.
• Filters to block SPAM, viruses and inappropriate content while surfing.
• Filters for all student email accounts with initial electronic filtering and human monitoring of content with a service from Securly.

What happens if a student misuses their Google account?

The same expectations for acceptable use of technology (as outlined in our Technology Acceptable Use Policy 2022) apply to Google Workspace accounts. Students who misuse their accounts will be referred to their school's administrator who will deal with any infraction on a case-by-case basis. Administrators may choose to suspend student access to GMail (preserving access to Docs and Sites for classroom use) or may choose to suspend a student's account privileges entirely for a length of time appropriate to the offense. Parents will be notified should their student's account access be altered or suspended, as they would any time a building administrator makes a decision to withdraw privileges or enforce a consequence for inappropriate actions.

To report misuse or suspected misuse of a Wenatchee Schools Google Workspace account, it is appropriate to first contact your child's teacher or a building administrator.

What types of safety and security measures are in place for Google Workspace?

Wenatchee Schools Google Workspace complies with legal requirements for safety and security such as the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Each student is introduced to acceptable use and online safety every year in the Wenatchee Schools.

All email and drive accounts will be filtered for content and monitored for self harm, bullying, language, nudity, sexual content, and other abuses.  Administrators will have access to the blocks for intervention.

Parents may use the Securly app to monitor their students internet on district devices.  If you would like to be in control of your students internet surfing you can use Securly Home. Your email is registered if you have attached to your family/guardian profile in Skyward.

You can check this site to see if you can access these tools. If the site says it cannot find your email, contact your school and have them add your parent email to your student's account.

In addition, the Wenatchee School District commits to the following regarding student privacy:

• Not to publish confidential education records (grades, student ID numbers, etc.) for public viewing on the Internet
• To adhere to the Parent/Guardian Media Consent form and to appropriately limit public access to student work and/or photographs
• To provide Wenatchee parents or legal guardians with the right and a method to investigate the contents of their students’ Google Workspace account

*The method for allowing parents to investigate the contents of their student's Wenatchee Schools Google Workspace account is to contact the Google Workspace Domain Administrators via email.