By Rebecca Goldfine,Staff Writer

OXFORD – A series of newspaper articles describing the sometimes secretive cyberworld of children – and the dangers they may encounter there – has spurred educators to think about ways to alert their students about Internet safety.

At Monday’s SAD 17 board meeting, Superintendent Mark Eastman spoke about his concern for local students after reading an article in the Boston Globe, which has been one of several published recently in national and local papers, on kids who use social sites like MySpace.com, and post personal information there.

“There have been very serious incidents around the country with predators tracking children,” Eastman said.

Ted Moccia and Hal Small, principals of Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School and Oxford Hills Middle School, respectively, have begun developing strategies to warn students about the possible risks they take when they put personal data on Web sites – from being targeted by sexual predators to becoming the victim of identity theft.

Small said he has initiated conversations about the topic in each classroom at his school.

And Moccia said he is educating staff about the situation. Also, as some students’ Web activities come to light, school officials have met with parents and students.

Eastman said, too, that the school and police have collaborated. Moccia and Small said they have spoken with Paris police Chief David Verrier.

“There are students in this area using this Web site,” Moccia said, referring to Myspace.com, which allows users to post photographs and information about themselves.

But both administrators stressed that they do not have the time or staff to police their students’ computer lives, and although social Web sites are not allowed on school computers, students can go home to use family computers.

And Moccia said that the schools need to be careful to protect students while not infringing on their rights.

Small compared an Internet awareness campaign with hunting safety classes. “A hunting safety course is mandatory,” he said in Maine, where hunting is common. And computer safety classes are as necessary, he said, in a world where all students are using computers pretty much every day.