Kids can’t learn when they’re distracted by texts, TikTok or tunes.
So Schoharie Central School is going to start cracking down on cell phones.
Under a plan outlined at a June 22 Information Night for grades 5-11 and their families, cell phones will be locked away in a “magnetized” and locked bag—a Yondr pouch—during the school day.
It’s been suggested that students be allowed access to their phones during lunch; Superintendent David Blanchard said it’s an idea they’ll discuss more at a second meeting for students and families August 10 at 6pm.
About a dozen families attended the meeting on the 22nd, Mr. Blanchard said—he’s hoping for better attendance at the one on the 10th—and all but two were in favor of the no-phone plan.
“It’s a huge concern—getting kids to put away their phones,” he said, and something that won’t work without a plan.
“Kids are fighting with teachers at every turn,” he said, even in SCS’s most rigorous classes where even high-performing students are refusing to put them away, convinced they need their earbuds to learn.
“We have to make a drastic change.”
Under the draft plan, Junior and High School students would have to put their phone in the Yondr pouches, which are magnetically locked, when they enter the school.
They’d keep the pouches with them, and get them unlocked at the end of the day.
Teachers would also put their phones in Yondr pouches, but they won’t be locked.
When administrators visited a school already using the Yondr pouches, Mr. Blanchard said they found students were more engaged—and more respectful.
The pouches will cost about $10,000.