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Cell Phone Process

We will begin the year as we finished it, with cell phones set aside for the academic day. Feedback from students and teachers about their day to day experiences in the spring has helped us to think about how to continue to implement this process effectively, as well as how we could best communicate about ideas that were not clearly understood. Parent feedback was also helpful in planning current and future work for our community, as well as helping us understand the influence of this change at home.

Faculty all reported positive results from the removal of cell phones from the classroom. They reported increased engagement, attention, and social interactions in their learning environments. Students were interacting more freely and frequently with peers and teachers, and were less distracted. It was also clear that students were interacting more frequently and positively during passing times, free periods, and at lunch. The overall positive impact on the classroom and the day at large cannot be overstated.

Students feedback was also largely positive, for many of the same reasons stated by faculty.  Their constructive feedback primarily focused on some areas of the day where the process has added a step to their routine, or where they were concerned about how to manage their time.  For example:

  • Students were concerned about accessing their phones in the event that their team had an early sports dismissal. We have the advantage now of implementing the process at the start of the season, with coaches who have had experience, and a process is more clearly outlined and understood. We anticipate this being much smoother this year.
  • Students who are assigned to Jobs areas on the lower part of campus were concerned about accessing their phones after Jobs and being on time and ready for practice. It is hard to argue with students wanting to be on time! We have arranged our Jobs guidelines to allow students in these areas to leave Jobs earlier in order to have an extra cushion of time to ease this concern.
  • Some students also wanted to turn their phones in earlier, depending on their morning schedule, again to make sure that they could be on time and ready for class. While we are not able to open cabinets earlier than 8:45 am, as this would impact the important work that teachers do together before student arrival, students who would like to turn their phone in before that time may see Mrs. Brady in the Main Office and leave their phone there for the day. 
  • Concerns about losing their keys were also highlighted, with some also pointing to the bracelet on which keys have been stored as a distraction. We are working to find another solution for a key chain of sorts for these locker keys. Regardless, it remains the case that the best place to store your key during the day is a set place or pocket in your backpack. Those who got into this habit reported that it worked well.  
  • Students also voiced concern over accessing their phones later in the afternoon/evening, at the conclusion of after school activities. There are several solutions to this concern that students will be made aware of, including their coach/teacher, the Site Supervisor for Athletics (Mrs. Thaler) and the Administrator on Duty in the Dining Room who is on duty until 6:00 pm. All have access to keys and can assist a student with this need. 
  • In the spring, it was suggested that seniors who drive to school could be allowed to leave their phones in their cars during the day. This privilege is in place, with the understanding that this does not change the prohibition on accessing their cars during the day without permission, nor should it interfere with arriving on time for practices after school. 

Each of these guidelines will be discussed and emphasized with students in the opening days, as we continue to work to help them plan their time and their organizational strategies. 

The majority of parents reported their satisfaction, agreement and support of  the policy, regardless of whether this impacted their child's use at home. The small number that expressed disagreement spoke to specific needs and a desire or reason for regular communication during the day with their child. The most common question or concern amongst parents who agree with the policy was logistical and similar to that of the students, specific to accessing phones during an early dismissal. In addition to the sports component listed above, we have assigned specific staff members to phone access in the event of an early dismissal, thus tightening up that process. There are many parents who are interested in learning more about engaging in this learning with each other, so stay tuned for additional information about that as the year progresses.