Norton warns teachers not to ‘friend’ students

Peter Schworm

Worried about the potential risks of online interactions, the school board in Norton last week urged teachers not to become friends with their students on Facebook and other social media sites and advised them to avoid friendships with former students as well.
Tom Golota, a school board member, said the ban is designed to maintain a divide between teachers’ professional and private lives and send a message that becoming too friendly with students is not acceptable.
“We want to head it off at the pass,” Golata said. “Teachers know this already, but we wanted to have something official on the books.”