April 9th from Mr. Henry

Dear Families,

Since Gordon launched the Online Learning Community, news has been circulating about the potential security risks brought about by the rapid growth of an online video conferencing tool we use called Zoom. 

As many of you know from the significant news coverage Zoom has received, one of the major concerns presented revolves around "zoombombing," when an unprotected Zoom meeting is interrupted by strangers sharing inappropropriate content with meeting participants. 

As a community focused on protecting childhood and learning, Gordon takes this and all potential security risks very seriously. Of course, we don't do it alone, and it is important to us that our community understands the security measures we have in place.

What you should know:  

• At no point has a Gordon student been at risk of exposure to a "zoombomb" while engaging with faculty and classmates through Zoom.
   
• "Zoombombs" are not a result of Zoom calls being hacked. They are a result of users not being aware of the security measures necessary to properly secure their Zoom calls.
   
• Prior to the launch of the Online Learning Community, all of our faculty participated in Zoom training sessions focused on security as well as the use of all the great learning and connection features that have made Zoom so popular.
   
• All our faculty have been trained to implement security settings for classroom Zoom meetings, including securing meetings with passwords and enabling a meeting participant screening process through waiting rooms.
   
• The settings that our teachers were trained to use have now become the default settings for all of Zoom's K-12 school customers.

If you would like to learn more about steps Zoom has taken, and will take, to further secure its platform and the experience of users, you can read more here. Please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or concerns.

In partnership,

Marlon Henry
Technology Director