The Partners

SurfWisely is a web-based cybersecurity education platform designed for middle school students combining essential cybersecurity lessons with interactive, sports-themed games and real-life activities. The program equips students with practical skills to navigate the online world securely, covering topics such as safe browsing, password management, and phishing prevention. The program supports the development of workforce readiness skills.

St. Vrain Valley Schools:
Industry: Public K-12 Education
District Size: 33,000 students
Longmont: Longmont, CO

Project Overview

The Innovation Center of St. Vrain Valley Schools is a Career and Technical Education (CTE) center that serves all St. Vrain students and delivers educational experiences that prepare them for success as “tomorrow’s leaders, innovators, and changemakers”. The program’s mission is to equip students with the skills needed for the future, offering extended learning, mentorship opportunities, and employment. 

Recognizing the importance of offering cybersecurity education at earlier ages, the Innovation Center sought a solution that would resonate with their district’s middle school students. The district was offering comprehensive middle school computer science classes, but didn’t have a commonly used cybersecurity program at the middle school level. They wanted to expand their offerings in these classes to put cybersecurity on the radar for students transitioning out of middle school so that they would be interested in the cybersecurity pathways available to all St. Vrain high school students.

One challenge was helping teachers unfamiliar with cybersecurity. The district wanted to offer such teachers resources and support to develop their own foundational understanding and to teach it in their classes. SurfWisely, a game-based platform designed to improve cybersecurity education through interactive learning experiences, offered St. Vrain an accessible, “out-of-the-box-ready” resource to deliver simple, middle school-level content. Additionally, SurfWisely was an active partner ready to engage with educators on an ongoing basis. 

After participating in a free trial and receiving positive feedback from teachers across 20 schools who had used the tool, the Innovation Center committed to an annual subscription to SurfWisely for interested schools and educators across St. Vrain.

Goals

• Increase cybersecurity literacy at middle school level 
• Engage middle school students in high-quality cybersecurity curriculum
• Support middle school educators
• Increase awareness of and interest in cybersecurity as a career pathway
• Provide feedback on how SurfWisely integrates into K-12 systems

SurfWisely empowers our students to be informed and effective digital citizens in the modern world.

-AXEL REITZIG, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF INNOVATION, SVVSD

The Process

Both St. Vrain Valley Schools and SurfWisely wanted to move at a pace that ensured success and worked for all stakeholders. By approaching developing a partnership in a systemic and intentional manner, they could respond quickly to challenges and concerns, reflect on feedback, and iterate effectively and thoughtfully.

• Key stages in the process included:
  • Planning:
    • What were key goals for each stakeholder? What would success look like?
    • What resources were available? Which were needed?
    • How would this collaboration align with each organization’s strategic goals?

• Recruiting:
  • Which stakeholders would be involved? What would their involvement look like?
  • What support would participating teachers need?
  • What incentives could be provided?
  • What were participants expected to do?

• Curriculum and Technology Review:
  • Did SurfWisely meet St Vrain’s curriculum requirements? Specifically:
    • Did it meet privacy requirements?
    • Did it meet security and safety requirements?
    • Was it compatible within St. Vrain’s technology infrastructure?

• Implementation:
  • How long would the pilot take?
  • When would it start? End?
  • What opportunities would be provided to teachers who had questions or issues? Who would provide this support?

• Reflection and Next-Steps Planning:
  • How would feedback be collected and reviewed? By whom?
  • Was the pilot a success? Did it merit moving on to a broader adoption with St. Vrain?
  • How were the following considerations answered?
    • Was the experience good for students?
    • Is the platform supportable, scalable and sustainable on a long-term basis?

The Outcomes

This pilot was a successful way to measure the interest of teachers and students in exploring cybersecurity at the middle school level as well as to build a successful partnership between the Innovation Center and SurfWisely. There are many opportunities competing for education’s attention; developing this partnership in an intentional and focused manner has established a strong foundation for further growth and success.

Data:

• 359 students involved in SurfWisely Pilot
• 50% of teachers rated SurfWisely a 4 or higher for Overall Satisfaction
• 52.6% of students rated SurfWisely a 4 or higher on Improved Understanding

By using sports-themed games, SurfWisely ensures that every child can envision themselves in a cybersecurity future, making the learning process both engaging and effective.

-MYRON GROVER, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SurfWisely

The Future

• FY25: The Innovation Center is underwriting the use of SurfWisely for the 2024-25 school year. 7 schools overall decided to participate. The number of participating students more than doubled, reaching approximately 760. 
• Post-FY25: Ultimately, the Innovation Center hopes to ensure all middle school students have access to high-quality cybersecurity education. The goal is to expand the number of participating schools to include all middle schools across St. Vrain. Additionally, the IC hopes to support middle school teachers in developing and implementing additional cybersecurity curriculum that builds on SurfWisely.

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