Baldwin Park Unified Middle School Students Honored by Internet Safety Group

 Fifty students at Baldwin Park Unified's Olive Middle have won a "Role Reversal" Award in recognition of their Internet smarts from Safer Internet Day 2016 organizer ConnectSafely.Org.

Safer Internet Day, held Feb. 9, brought together 300 students online and in person at Universal Studios Hollywood. Olive was one of five area schools on site. Nineteen schools and youth organizations from Florida to Massachusetts participated online.

The Olive students won the accolade for describing how to encourage empathy and support among peers and adults as a way of improving online experiences. In the exercise, students reversed roles with experts, giving advice rather than listening to a talk.

The students said people should tell their stories in a personal way, talking directly about how they handled with challenges. They said schools should post fliers about those challenges and students should share their experiences with professional writers.