The first “Champion Chat” event was held Wednesday, Nov. 19 in the high school library and covered digital wellness.
The event consisted of an update from the technology department, a student panel, input from experts and group discussion.
Champion Chats, organized by Leader of School Community Engagement Dr. Stephen Lewis Sr., are a series of events covering topics relevant to Bexley families. They include input from students and local experts.
The digital wellness programing was created because of parent interest and the strategic plan’s goal to promote, monitor and sustain students’ healthy relationship with technology, Pettit said.
Parents were hoping to gain a better understanding of student technology usage and how it can be regulated at home, Lewis said.
Before the panel began, Pettit and Technology Integration Coach Bob Keep spoke about Gaggle, a new tool that monitors students’ online safety. They also discussed the Lightspeed parent portal, which allows parents to turn off students’ Internet access on their Chromebook.
Neurologist Dr. Ana Adeli and licensed counselor Libby Steele, who are both members of the Bexley Technology Advisory Group, moderated the student panel.
Student panelists discussed social media, the new cell phone policy, screen time and online safety.
Junior panelist Annmarie Carleton said limiting screen time is helpful when she notices social media usage has become time consuming.
“I am very aware of all my screen time,” she said. “I have been known to take week-long breaks from social media, putting on time limits, deleting apps.”
Freshman panelist Ari Feinberg said he isn’t allowed to have social media and sometimes feels left out when friends are online. He often doesn’t feel inclined to regulate his time on screens, he added.
Feinberg said he believes the cell phone policy hasn’t made a difference and isn’t being taken seriously. Students regularly ignore the policy, he explained.
“I think now people are just trying harder than ever to evade the rules,” he said.
Carleton explained she has found social interaction between classmates to be a positive effect of the policy. She explained she has made many more friends in her classes than she has in past years.
Sophomore panelist Cameron Fischer said he is apprehensive about talking with strangers on the internet.
“If it’s a post I see online, something from a stranger, I’ll ignore it, because even if I don’t agree with it, that’s not my issue,” he said. “That’s their ideas and their beliefs.”
Carleton explained she thinks kids can be kept safe from strangers and still be online. She said danger is easily avoidable if parents maintain open communication with their children.
Pettit said when choosing panel members, difference in opinion, age and grade level was something they took into account.
“I think even small shifts in age impact experience,” he said.
After the panel, students and parents rotated through stations around the library and discussed topics such as how parents can set an example for their kids and what strategies work for families to limit unhealthy screen usage.
Steele said Internet use is scarier for parents with younger children. Because they aren’t as mature, they can’t self-regulate and keep themselves out of danger, she added. However, she said the responses from panelists gave parents a good idea of where to start.
Carleton said she liked the style of the event because both parents and kids could voice their opinion. The format gave parents an opportunity to listen and engage with students to hear their authentic ideas, she said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been asked those questions by adults,” she said. “It was very beneficial.”
Adeli said students more at risk to the dangers of social media may not have been effectively represented.
“I think no one is talking about those kids who are not able to self-regulate,” she said. “We haven’t heard from them, but we know they’re out there.”
Published and digitized December 2025.
