STATE OF ARKANSAS

Office of the First Lady
 JANET HUCKABEE
 1800 CENTER
 LITTLE ROCK, AR 72206

November 30, 2005

Dear Principal,

Recent studies show that one in five children receives an online sexual solicitation each year and 29 percent of children freely give out personal information online if asked.  The Internet Keep Safe Coalition is aiming to change these statistics.  I joined the Coalition because this rising threat to children is preventable through education.

To help protect the children of Arkansas, I will be hosting a news conference December 8 at Jim Stone Elementary School in Conway, Arkansas.  This media event will kickoff a statewide campaign teaching parents and children the three basic rules of Internet safety:  “Keep. Don't Meet. Tell”.  These rules are taught by the Internet safety icon, Faux Paw the Techno CatTM, whose story I will read at the press conference.

Faux Paw's story and her award-winning animated short movie are also available online at www.iKeepSafe.org.  In addition, the site offers complimentary educational materials including coloring pages, a guided discussion, worksheets, and quizzes, with new content being added regularly.  The materials specifically target students in first through fourth grades.  Please share this valuable resource with your teachers.

Your technology staff may also be interested in the Faux Paw screensaver and wallpapers that reinforce Internet safety.  They may be downloaded from the Website at no charge and used on your school's computers to remind students of the importance of Internet safety.

I have attached a letter to parents, which can be sent home by the children in the first through fourth grades to help them understand the important steps to help protect their children.

I hope you will take full advantage of these resources available to your faculty and students through the Internet Keep Safe Coalition.  Working together, we can protect our children from online dangers.

Sincerely, 

Janet Huckabee
First Lady of Arkansas