Guest bloggers

I received a request today from someone asking whether I would allow "guest blogger" posts here. The short answer is "yes."

In the past I have offered this space to my School Board colleagues. Some have permitted me to post their words but none has decided to make a post themselves. Only one other School Board member has a blog, Tom Reed's Loudoun Schools Dais.

The name of the blog is "Our Loudoun Schools." The purpose is to encourage better online information and discussion of issues pertaining to the Loudoun Public School community. I don't consider it my personal space, though I do manage it.

I extend the invitation to everyone, even (especially) those who disagree with me on any issue. This is a community space. I won't edit anyone's work, but I will insist on maintaining a few standards that differ from the comments free-for-all.

1. The subject of the post must relate directly to the Loudoun Public School community.
   
2. No anonymity, except for students (yes, students... I would love to have middle & high-school contributors). Kids would need to be known by me, and would have a handle, but could be anonymous to the world. Adults should act like adults, and put our names to our thoughts.
   
3. Stick with the issues. There must be a recognition that reasonable people can disagree. There are plenty of other places online to post venom and slander (including the comments section of this blog. I loathe reading such attacks in the comments section but I will not police them except in extreme cases).
   
4. Claims of fact must be documented. This is a subjective standard and will be enforced loosely, but given the degree of speculation I see in other places it is important to me for this blog to be a relatively reliable source of information.

I think that's enough. If the need for other ground rules becomes clear I will update this list, and can hold me to the same standards. If interested, write to me at: Stevens@LoudounSchools.org.