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An in-depth conversation with a veteran superintendent on why digital safety isn't optional—and how a rural Kansas district is leading by example.

When I first sat down with Paul Larkin, superintendent of Syracuse USD 494 in Western Kansas, I wasn't expecting a conversation that would stay with me for days.

There was no script. No sweeping rhetoric. Just truth—clear, steady, and hard-won.

Paul has served in public education for more than 30 years—as a teacher, coach, principal, and now as superintendent for nearly a decade. He's seen technology arrive and evolve in classrooms. He remembers the time before cell phones. He was there when the "one-to-one device" model was first celebrated as a tool for equity.

And now?

Now, he's watching kids fall asleep in class after scrolling on school-issued devices until 3 a.m.

Now, he's listening to kindergarten teachers say: "We're done—we don't want iPads in our classrooms anymore."

Now, he worries—not because he's anti-tech, but because he's honest about what's happening.

Full shownotes - https://kidsdigitalhealthhub.com/digital-safety-in-schools/

A superintendent's honest take: Why screen education matters more than ever