The ER9 District is considering whether to adopt a districtwide policy regulating students’ access to their cell phones during class time.
At the district tri-board meeting May 27, where all three boards of education — Easton, Redding and Region 9 —- come together to discuss issues of mutual interest, board members debated whether to adopt a districtwide policy on allowing students to have their phones in classrooms, and when they are permitted to use the phones while at school.
“We have talked about this in Easton, and we have determined that we don’t have really any issue at the elementary school level and at the middle school level,” said Easton Board of Education Chairman Randy Hicks.
“If the phones are seen by teachers or administrators, in theory they are confiscated and brought to the office and then parents are called, and they can come get their child’s phone at the end of the day,” he said. “I think for the most part, it is not deemed to be a disruption during school because if the kids have them, they are supposed to keep them well hidden.”
Last year, Helen Keller Middle School implemented a stricter cell phone policy requiring students to keep their devices turned off and stored in lockers throughout the school day. The policy also extends to wearable technology like Apple watches, though wristwatches without internet connectivity used solely for health purposes are permitted.
Previously, students could carry powered-off phones in their backpacks or pockets. The policy has garnered positive feedback from parents and staff, with a noticeable decrease in phone-related infractions. Vice Principal Ann Mohr cited a significant drop in confiscated phones since the policy’s enforcement.
But that might not be the experience districtwide.
“I think part of the debate is, does that work for everybody?” said Hicks. “Should we have more conversation about this? Should we have a policy?”
Redding board chair Laura Worosz said the district could form its own policy or use one from the state Department of Education.
“I think it would be nice if we could start talking about it and get some introductory thoughts, and then the administration may or may not decide to communicate with the community, just to see how people are feeling,” she said. “In the research that I’ve seen, when schools do enact policies, they fare much better when they brought the community along with them and involve them in the process.”
School Superintendent Dr. Jason McKinnon said it hasn’t been much of an issue in the schools.
“Cell phones are not to be seen,” he said. “They are to be turned off when they are in a backpack or left at home.”
But at Reed Middle School, three or four times the issue has come up, he said, and at Samuel Staples Elementary School, teachers are beginning to see it come up more with the fifth graders.
At the middle schools, cell phones have to be left in lockers or turned off, he said, and so far it hasn’t been a problem.
At Joel Barlow High School, teachers have their own policies for their classrooms, McKinnon said. Most teachers require students to deposit their phones in locked pouches, and they get the phone back at the end of the class.
“I think that each teacher enforces it differently,” he said. “I think the teachers at the high school are looking for guidance on that.”
Easton board member Devon Wible said that a policy shouldn’t only govern the use of cell phones, but other smart technology such as watches as well.
“When you’re talking mobile phones, you have to talk smart watches and other smart devices because they are just as much of a distraction because they do much of the same things as a mobile phone,” she said. “I think that in many grades in the elementary school it’s not an issue, but as kids get older in fourth or fifth grade, they are becoming more of an issue because kids tend to have them more often.
“So if we were to enact a policy, I would strongly encourage that that policy would be extended to kindergarten because even if they don’t have a phone, it’s better to have a policy that extends to kindergarten so that there is policy there and it is consistent,” she said.
“All the research points to how dangerous and awful the phones are and how distracting they are for kids,” she said. “I think what we have done at Helen Keller, where they keep it their locker and they are not using it the entire school day, has been quite effective. But I think having a policy behind it allows our administration and our principles and teachers to talk to families in a way that is consistent and clear, versus ‘hey, this is just what we’re going to do.’”
Before a decision is made, the board needs to hear from parents, McKinnon said.
“The conversation around social media use and screen time and cell phones in classrooms, I think is an important conversation to have,” he said. “We should ask parents as well what they think because if we ask all parents, do you think cell phones should be banned and do you think cell phones should stay at home, not every family would feel the same way.
“In some families, parents may want to have their child have a cell phone,” he said. “That doesn’t mean that they want them to use it during period three math, but they want their phone to be in their backpack.”
The district should survey parents to learn what their thoughts are as to how the district should handle students’ cell phones, he said.
“Those are conversations we should have, and we can get preliminary data on what that looks like by asking maybe a simple four-or five-question survey to find out what the community is looking for,” he said.
