All CSD students have a Google Workspace account to access Chromebooks, CSD LaunchPad, and the Student Portal. Email is active only for students in grades 3 and above. Students in grades 3-5 can send/receive emails only with other CSD users.

Students who need login or password assistance can speak with their teacher or their media specialist.

• Account name
  • Each student's account name is the last two digits of their student ID number (aka lunch number) plus (up to) the first four letters each of their first and last names.
  • For example, if Chinua Achebe were a student with ID number 098765, his account name would be 65chinache@csdecatur.net
  • Students/parents can find a student's ID number by logging into the Infinite Campus Parent Portal.
• Password
  • You can contact the school's media center or front office if your student needs help accessing their CSD Google Workspace account. To better protect security, we do not post default password information online.
  • Students can change their password at any time here.

With the username and password, students can go to any Google Workspace login page and log in with these credentials.

CSD uses a variety of online tools to support learning, and they vary by grade level and content area. Students mostly access their online learning tools via CSD LaunchPad. Students log into LaunchPad with their CSD Google Workspace credentials (or a QR code at lower elementary on campus).

Students and staff use a wide variety of computers to support learning. The Information Services department supports instructional leaders in selecting the best hardware and services to meet students' learning needs. We rely heavily on our fleet of Chromebooks, and we bring in Apple computers and tablets where they are an appropriate fit. We also have several Windows computer labs. Our goal is to provide hardware and operating system platform that best meets specific curriculum needs.

Reliable at-home access to an internet-connected computer can support students' learning. DHS and BHMS students whose families have completed the Annual Data Update (or provided equivalent information when registering during the school year) will receive a Chromebook to use at home and at school.

The majority of students' homework can be completed with a device that runs a modern web browser and has reliable access to the internet; most Chromebooks and entry-level desktops and laptops easily meet that requirement, while high-end laptops and workstations exceed the requirements of most academic programs. CSD does not make purchasing recommendations for families, but for comparison purposes our students at various grade levels use the Apple MacBook Air, Apple iPad, Dell and HP Chromebooks, and Dell workstations.

CSD recognizes that not all families have the means to provide their child(ren) with a computer and/or reliable internet access. Each CSD school has a supply of hotspots that can be checked out to families for the duration of the school year. Additionally, the DeKalb County Public Library has hotspots available for 21-day checkout by cardholders 18+ years old. The Decatur branch of the DeKalb library also has computers on the upper floors for community use.

1:1 refers to each student having a computer assigned or available for immediate access during school. Fifth Avenue Upper Elementary and Talley Street Upper Elementary have device carts in  every classroom to support this approach. Decatur High School and Beacon Hill Middle School issue students Chromebooks to use both at school and at home, and additional information about that program is available here. Hotspots are available for students who do not have reliable at-home internet access.

CSD strongly recommend a home broadband internet connection to access online learning resources. Although we have hotspots available upon request, a broadband connection offers a far more reliable experience to support online learning.

If the cost of broadband is a challenge, families have several options for discounted service.

• Access from AT&T
• Comcast Internet Essentials
• Verizon Forward
• The federal government offers the Lifeline program to support connectivity for eligible families.

The federal Affordable Connectivity Program, which offered eligible families a subsidy on home broadband, is ending in April 2024. ACP participants can get more information about the program's closure here.

Families can request a temporary hotspot from their school media center, or check one out from the DeKalb County Public Library. However, please note that hotspots are often not a reliable way to connect to the internet, especially in homes where there are other competing wireless signals.

Report it. Please consider informing your child's teacher, school counselor, or administrator, especially if the harassment or bullying involves another CSD student, occurs during school, and/or occurs during a school-related activity. You can use the reporting form posted here to report harassment, intimidation, or bullying.

Even if the other party is not connected to CSD, your student's support team wants to know of anything that impacts your child's wellbeing! If the harassment or bullying is happening via a social media platform, use that platform's reporting tools to alert the company to the violation of its terms of service. Online harassment may also be severe or pervasive enough to warranty informing law enforcement. Some forms of online harassment or bullying involving another CSD student might also involve our Title VI or Title IX resources. Additional information about recognizing and preventing cyberbullying is available at from StopBullying.gov.

Sure! We have some guidance and resources for managing technology as a family, plus resources specifically around online safety and privacy.

CSD has several systems and expectations around supporting student and staff online safety.

Filtering 

• CSD implements internet content filtering with a solution from Lightspeed Systems -- a major K-12 provider -- that meets the requirements of the federal Children's Internet Protection Act. 
• CSD strives to ensure that websites accessed through CSD equipment and connections are appropriate to the learning environment.
  • All traffic that connects through CSD's network, regardless of the device and its owner, is routed through the content filter.
  • All network traffic on CSD-owned Chromebooks is routed through the content filter, even when the device is off-campus.
  • Generally speaking, anywhere (including off-campus) a student uses their CSD Google Workspace account to log into a non-CSD Chromebook at the account (device login) level or logs into the Chrome web browser and turns on data sync, that browser profile's traffic will be routed through the CSD content filter. This is because CSD Google Workspace accounts are configured to force-install an extension that routes traffic through the content filter. 
• No filter is 100% accurate all of the time, and therefore teachers are required to monitor students' online activity. If a teacher has a concern about students' access to a particular site, they can redirect the student and use a dedicated support ticket category to request permanent blockage of that site.

Monitoring

• CSD uses Bark for Schools to provide alerts to upper elementary and secondary school staff for potentially unsafe content in students' key Google Workspace collaboration tools: email and Drive (including Docs, Sheets, and Slides). The Bark for Schools monitoring is active anywhere a student uses their CSD Google Workspace  tools, including off-campus.
• Whereas the content filtering described above is intended to control what outside websites are accessible by students, Bark and other monitoring tools are intended to keep an eye out for problematic content within our approved tools.
• In addition to technical monitoring, CSD's Acceptable Use Policy requires staff to monitor the internet use of students under their charge.
  • If students do access a potentially disruptive website, staff have a specific technology support ticketing process that allows them to rapidly report the site for an expeditious block.

By default, students cannot log into CSD Google Workspace from outside the United States. This is to protect against account highjacking.

If a student is traveling abroad as part of a school-sponsored activity, the faculty sponsor can provide IT with a list of participating students to be exempted from the block.

CSD carefully evaluated Google's privacy stature and contract language before transitioning to Google Apps (later dubbed "G Suite for Education" and now "Google Workspace") in June 2015. Google does not own student data stored or created in CSD Google Workspace, nor does it sell student information residing in CSD Google Workspace. CSD Google Workspace does not show advertising to logged-in students. Google's adherence to its contractural obligations to protect student privacy is audited by several third parties. You can learn more at the Google Workspace FAQ and the Google Workspace Privacy and Security page.

CSD's transition to Google Workspace went so well, we were invited to share our experiences with other Georgia school systems at Google's Atlanta office. We are also one of about 20 American and Canadian school districts on Google for Education's North American Customer Advisory Board, affording us the opportunity to influence policy and product decisions.