Annie Wright Schools' Privacy Policy

Annie Wright Schools (AWS) are committed to protecting the privacy and information it collects from its community. This policy explains how Annie Wright Schools collect and handle information received from applicants and their families, students and their families, alumni, employees, job applicants and others who interact with Annie Wright Schools or its website. Other than IP addresses and traffic information collected described below, we do not collect user information on our website unless you choose to provide such information to us. 

This policy sets forth the type of information we collect, how it is stored and used, and the rights and options you may have with respect to your information.

Information We Collect; How and When We Collect It
Our goal is to collect the minimum amount of information necessary - whether from applicants, enrolled students and their families, alumni, employees, or contractors.

We collect the information you provide us. A person’s interaction with Annie Wright Schools occurs during the admissions process, during matriculation (and throughout a student’s enrollment at Annie Wright Schools), and as alumni. We also collect information from applicants for employment as well as employees and contractors of AWS.

It is important to AWS to protect the privacy of young children who may use our website. Annie Wright Schools do not knowingly solicit or collect information from children under the age of 13 on this website. Children under the age of 13 are not permitted to submit an inquiry form or application to the Schools. Parents or legal guardians of a child under the age of 13 must complete the inquiry form and consent to the submission of an application to the Schools.

Usage Information, Site Activity and Location Information
We automatically collect information regarding the actions you take on the website ("Usage Information"). Usage Information helps us understand trends in our users’ needs and improve our website and its functionality. We also may use Usage Information for general marketing purposes. This Privacy Policy in no way restricts or limits our collection and use of Usage Information, and we may share Usage Information about our users with third parties for various purposes, including to help us better understand your needs and improve our website. When you use our website and/or provide us with information, some examples of the Usage Information we may collect include: the type of web browser you use, your operating system, your web requests, your Internet Service Provider, your IP address, referring/exit pages and URLs, the pages you view and how you interact with links on our website, comments and other content you post, the time and duration of your visits to the website and other such information. We may store such Usage Information itself and/or such information may be included in databases owned and maintained by agents or service providers. We may also collect information that identifies the device you use to access the website, your device’s unique device ID, the IP address of your device, your operating system, connection type (e.g. WiFi or cellular) and GPS technology (or other similar technology) to determine your current location when you use a mobile device to access the website. If you do not want us to have your location information, you should turn off the location services before accessing the website from a mobile device. We may use such information and pool it with other information to track, for example, the total number of visitors to our website, the number of visitors to each page of our website, etc. We use this information to help us understand how people use the website and to enhance the website.

Admissions

It is expected that information shared with Annie Wright Schools during the admission process is given with the consent of a parent or guardian. AWS does not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian. 

During the admissions process, information will be collected and stored about the applicant and family for the purposes of evaluating the applicant. Annie Wright Schools also will use the information for communicating with the family during the admissions process.

Information about applicants, their parents/guardians and siblings will be collected via our website (the Inquiry Form) as well as by the Application Form or other similar common applications administered by a third party. Additional information may be collected by the admissions office via various interviews, phone calls, references and emails.

Types of information collected include names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, gender, dates of birth, race, ethnicity, nationality, citizenship, educational history, and legacy status. Further, we collect information about the student’s academic and disciplinary history, athletic, and extra-curricular records and interests and possibly financial information (to process financial aid requests). Additional information regarding the applicant’s parents or guardians such as employment and marital status also will be collected.

As part of the admissions process, AWS also may gather or receive information from other sources regarding medical and/or educational records, standardized tests, and other evaluative material. The types of information collected in these cases may be specific to the individual.

Annie Wright Schools receive and process such information pursuant to your agreements with such third-party service providers and in furtherance of your agreement with us concerning your application and matriculation and pursuant to our legitimate interests in assessing your application. For information on the privacy practices of such third parties, please consult your agreements with them and their own privacy policies.

You are required to provide this information if you would like to apply to or be enrolled at Annie Wright Schools. Without this information, Annie Wright Schools cannot process a student’s application or enroll them. To the extent that any requested information is not necessary for the performance of Annie Wright Schools’ agreements and policies, such requests will be separately identified and the appropriate consent obtained. 

Applicant information is kept for seven years. 

Matriculation
It is expected that information shared with Annie Wright Schools during a student’s enrollment is given with the consent of a parent or guardian. The school does not knowingly collect information from anyone under the age of 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian.

Once enrolled, Annie Wright Schools continues to collect and process information for the purposes of caring for and educating the student. The information is used to keep you informed about the school and to offer you access to school services. Information also will be collected, created and stored (about the student and family) for the purposes of tracking student progress at Annie Wright Schools.

The information collected for enrolled students and their families includes names, addresses, phone numbers, emails, gender and dates of birth. Health and medical information regarding the student is collected to ensure their well-being while on campus. Further, we collect information about the enrolled student’s academic, athletic, and extra-curricular records and interests, and possibly financial information. Information about performance (classes, co-curricular activities, etc.) and images of the student engaged in academic, athletic, and extra-curricular activities also may be collected and maintained. We may post information about performance and images of the student on the internet and in publications.

Annie Wright Schools may gather or receive information from other sources such as testing agencies (including, medical/educational, standardized tests, etc.). The types of information we collect in these cases may be specific to the individual. We receive and process such information pursuant to your agreements with such third-party service providers, and in furtherance of your agreements with us concerning your matriculation. For information on the privacy practices of such third parties, please consult your agreements with them and their individual policies.

This information collection is required if one wants to be enrolled at Annie Wright Schools. To the extent that any requested information is not necessary for the performance of Annie Wright Schools’ agreements and policies, such requests will be separately identified and the appropriate consent obtained.

Student records are kept permanently.

Alumni and Friends

Alumni, friends and parents are lifelong members of the Annie Wright Schools community. The Development Office of Annie Wright Schools is dedicated to keeping our alumni, friends and parents (past and present) connected to the school. 

Types of information collected include name, address, phone number, email, gender, date of birth, employment, gifts received, and events attended. Credit card numbers are collected and used only for donation or payment processing through an encrypted, secure, third party processing system, and are not retained for other purposes.

The information we collect is used for a variety of reasons, including:

Since Annie Wright Schools enjoy keeping in contact with you for life, we retain these records permanently.

Applicants for Employment, Employees and Contractors

Annie Wright Schools collect information from applicants for employment, employees, and contractors of the Schools. The Schools use an employment application to collect information such as biographical information, gender, date of birth, employment history, and employment/personal references on all applicants for employment. This information becomes part of the employee’s file once hired. Annie Wright Schools also conducts extensive criminal background checks through fingerprinting and if applicable, a credit report, on its employees. Upon hire and throughout employment at the school, the employee may provide additional information to the school such as bank information, biometric information for time-keeping purposes, health information, beneficiary and dependent information and other information related to such employment. The school collects EIN or social security numbers from contractors and may collect bank information for payment purposes. Certain contractors with direct, unsupervised access to students will need to provide information such as biographical information, date of birth, employment history and employment/personal references. The school also will conduct criminal background checks through fingerprinting of such contractors with direct, unsupervised access to students.

Email and Web Inquiries
You also may send us identifying information, for example, in an email message containing a question or comment, or by completing a web form that provides us with this information. We use personally identifying information from these communications primarily to respond to you. We may forward your correspondence to school representatives who are better able to answer your questions. We may also use your email to contact you in the future about our programs that we deem may be of interest to you. We do not share your name or email address with any third parties. 

Disclosure of Your Information

We may disclose your information pursuant to legal requirements and to comply with our school rules and policies. We also may share your information with:

We also may share your information with third party vendors providing services to us in our operations. 

External Links
Our website offers links to other sites that are not owned or affiliated with Annie Wright Schools. These sites have their own security policies, terms of use and privacy policies. If you choose to visit one of these websites you should review the policies of that particular site. Annie Wright Schools exercise no control over, and is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such websites.

Security
The Schools employ commercially reasonable physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect the confidentiality and security of information and other information and data transmitted to us. However, no data transmission over the Internet or other network can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. You acknowledge and accept the data security risks of using our website and our services.

Note to International Users

This site is hosted and the provision of our services are in the United States. If you are accessing the sites or using our services from the European Union, other countries in Europe, Asia or any other region with laws or regulations governing personal data collection, use and disclosure that differ from U.S. laws, please be advised that through your continued use of the site or our services, which are governed by U.S. law and this Privacy Policy, you are transferring your information to the U.S., and you consent to that transfer. Your information may also be accessible to law enforcement and national security authorities in the United States, without notice to you and without the knowledge or consent of the school. The laws in the U.S. may not be as protective of your privacy as those in your location. By using our site and services, you agree that the applicable laws in the U.S. will govern the collection, use, transfer and disclosure of your information. If you do not agree to these terms, do not use this site or our services.

Contact Information
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please send them to  communications@aw.org.

Changes to this Policy
Annie Wright Schools reserve the right, in its sole discretion, to change this Privacy Policy in whole or in part, at any time. Your continued use of the website after any changes to the Privacy Policy have become effective will be considered acceptance of those changes. When we make changes we will also revise the "last modified" date at the bottom of this page. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically.