Smart Talk

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PTA Connected

PTA Connected with LifeLock: The Smart Talk

Did you know? The time to have a digital safety conversation with your kids is before they get their first device. 

When kids start becoming even more tech savvy than the adults in their lives, it can become a daunting task to stay one step ahead of them and ensure that they are staying safe online. 

Get proactive with The Smart Talk, by National PTA and Symantec and learn:

  • How to determine who should “friend” or “follow” your account?
  • When to share photos or videos online?
  • How to respond to negative comments or posts on social media?
  • Whether to use location-based services on apps?
  • How much screen time is appropriate?

The Smart Talk


2019 PTA Connected SmartTalk Conversation Grant, Sponsored by Symantec


Apply now through Sept. 8 for the PTA Connected SmartTalk Conversation grant, sponsored by Symantec.

You could be among 25 PTAs across the country who receive $1,000 to host a SmartTalk Conversation at their school during the month of February, in celebration of Safer Internet Day on Feb. 11, 2020. This grant program is great for first through eighth-grade students. 

Grant Program Requirements

As a local PTA grantee, you will be required to:

  • Attend online trainings to learn how to present and facilitate a Smart Talk event
  • Host one Smart Talk event in your school community during February 2020
    • To qualify as a Smart Talk event, your event must have a digital safety-related presentation, as well as a walk-through of The Smart Talk tool
  • Encourage event attendees to take an online post event survey
  • Complete a Program Leader Feedback Form within two weeks of your event
  • Submit three pictures of your event to National PTA
  • Use the communication tools provided in the toolkit to share your event story with your local community and National PTA
Eligibility

To be eligible, applicants must:

Your PTA can apply for as many grants as you’d like, but you can only receive one grant in each program area (PTA Connected, STEM + Families, Healthy Lifestyles or Family Reading Experience) per school year.

If you won this PTA Connected SmartTalk Conversation grant last year, you are NOT eligible to win again this year. 

National PTA is committed to promoting and encouraging many types of diversity and inclusion as part of our commitment to every child. In addition to evaluating the merits of each application, we may also consider geography, need and other criteria to ensure a robust and diverse pool of grantees.

Apply Now



Host a SmartTalk Conversation Toolkit

Use the resources below to plan and host a SmartTalk Conversation Event with parents and students at your local school. 

At the Smart Talk Conversation event, you will host a 15-20 minute presentation with the help of a digital safety expert, school technology officer or similar speaker to give a family-appropriate presentation on digital safety that encourages students to participate with their parents.

Host a Smart Talk Conversation



Smart Talk Sign at School

Smart Talk Presentation

Digital Safety Ground Rules

The Smart Talk We heard from parents and PTA leaders across the country that they wanted to be able to connect as a family online safely. National PTA’s solution to help families with digital safety was born: The Smart Talk.

The Smart Talk walks families through a series of guided questions to establish a digital safety conversation, which then creates a personalized agreement based on your answers. Once your agreement is complete, you can print it off, sign it, and hang it on the fridge so everyone remembers the ground rules.

Hear How Parents Use The Smart Talk



2018-2019 Grantees

The 2018 PTA Connected with LifeLock Grant awarded $1,000 to 25 PTAs across the country to host a SmartTalk Conversation at their school, in celebration of Safer Internet Day during the week of Feb. 5, 2019. View the 2018 LifeLock Grant winners!

It's never too late to have the Smart Talk. Head the Smart Talk website, where you will be prompted to fill out an online contract that you and your children can work on together as a family. 


Smart Talk event programming is a part of the PTA Connected initiative made possible with the support of Presenting and Founding Sponsorship of LifeLock.

Norton Lifelock