Personal electronic devices are defined as “a privately-owned device that is used for audio, video, text communication or any other type of computer-like instrument.” This includes personal computers, smart phones, smart watches, tablets and ear buds/headphones.

As part of our accreditation this year, we examined extensive longitudinal achievement, behavior and perception data and performed root cause analyses to determine which factors within our control as a school were leading to poor academic and behavioral outcomes for our students.

Cell phones (including social media, communication apps, gaming, entertainment, etc.) were a common variable in many of the outcomes we’re trying to improve. In short, cell phones pose a significant risk to our students’ learning, their mental health, and their safety. Cell phones also present a significant burden on our teaching and non-teaching staff. We polled our teaching staff about the biggest challenges to teaching at Midtown High. Policing cell phone use and competing with cell phones for students’ attention were by far the biggest challenges listed by teachers. The burden on our teaching and administrative staff to manage cell phones and the behaviors enabled by cell phones is considerable.

In addition to the Midtown-specific data guiding this decision, we have been actively studying the research on the impacts of cell phone use on students’ long-term ability to focus, on their ability to form meaningful connections with peers and adults, and on their mental health. We’ve also looked at evidence from other schools that have gone “phone free.”

If you want to see the Coffee Chat presentation where we shared an overview of our work, you can watch it here: Recording of Principal Coffee Chat Passcode: *R!heu7

First, this effort is not about taking something away. It’s about resetting and restoring a learning environment that was eroded by COVID and our increased attachment to virtual spaces.

Our goals are to help students develop: 1) their capacity to maintain focus and attention; 2) their capacity to interact with peers and adults to form more meaningful relationships; 3) their ability to master complex concepts and skills in their courses; and 4) their ability to manage their time and resources effectively without over-reliance on their mobile devices or parents; 5) enhance learning and minimize distractions in the classroom.

We know that cell phones are not the only devices that contribute to diminishing students’ experience at school. Earbuds, headphones, smartwatches, tablets and personal computers are also contributors. Thus, we are limiting students’ access to all of these devices during school hours. All students will have access to school-issued Chromebooks to complete their work here and at home.

For cell phones and smaller PEDs like smart watches and earbuds, we’ll be utilizing Yondr pouches. All students will be issued a Yondr pouch on the first day of school, August 1, 2024. Students will label the pouch with their name when they receive it, and that pouch will be theirs to use for the remainder of their time at Midtown. Students will be required to silence their phones and secure them in Yondr pouches each morning when entering school. When students are dismissed at the end of the day, they will open their pouches by tapping them against a specialized magnet.

When they are issued their Yondr pouches, students will also be provided with clear instructions about that process and a clear explanation of consequences for violating the policy. If students want to bring smaller PEDs like earbuds or smart watches, those should also be placed in the pouch. Use of larger PEDs like headphones, personal laptops or tablets is not permitted during school hours. If teachers or admin observe students with those devices, they will be subject to the same disciplinary consequences as with phones.

Cell phones are only permitted on campus if a student is able to secure one in a Yondr pouch. Therefore, if a student loses or damages (rendering it unusable) their pouch, the student can either purchase a replacement pouch for $30.00 or they can leave their cell phone at home.

Our personal experiences trying to help students manage their cell phone use have provided ample evidence that any “half-way” approach that relies on teachers to police students or on students to exercise self-control to manage phone use does not work.

If you want to read a very strong rationale from NYU psychologist Jonathan Haidt for why banning phones throughout the school day is the best solution, please read The Case for Phone-Free Schools.

Page 29 of the APS Student Handbook makes clear that students should only be using personal electronic devices during the day with permission of adults. Thus, our plan to limit students’ use of electronic devices during the school day is in line with APS policy.

If you have a family emergency (like a death in the family), please contact the student’s counselor or their assistant principal so that they can assist you in pulling your student from class and connecting you with them in person. You can also come directly to the school to check your child out.

If it is a non-emergency (like a change in plans for after school), you can message your child through Schoology. You can also text your child on their mobile device, and they will have a window of time at the end of the school day to check those messages prior to bus departures for the day.

We hope that MHS parents will take this opportunity to limit their communications with students during the day about things like grades, missing assignments, items left at home, etc. Students lose focus when parents are asking them questions about missing assignments or why they were marked tardy for 2nd period, etc. Those are discussions to be had at home. High school is a time for our students to develop capacities to manage their work, their time and their resources in preparation for the world of work and study after high school. It’s also a time for them to develop their communication skills with peers and adults in the building who can help them navigate real-world challenges in preparation for their future.

Safety is a primary concern at Midtown High School. We have protocols to keep students safe in myriad scenarios that concern us all, from weather events to bomb threats, to health emergencies, to weapons on campus.

When we polled parents and students about their major concerns regarding not having access to cell phones, this was the number one concern: parents and their children not being able to reach each other immediately in the case of a school emergency.

There are two distinct issues at play in these concerns: The first is students actually being safer in a school-wide event. Experience and research suggest that students are actually safer if they are not on cell phones during events in which following the clear directions of adults is essential and being silent may be important. Students are safer without personal devices during an emergency where adults need to coordinate a response that relies on students’ undivided attention and cooperation. 

The second issue at play is students and parents feeling a decrease in anxiety because they can communicate directly during a stressful event. This is a valid feeling that we have to weigh against the benefits to student safety that we gain by not having students on individual devices.

Oftentimes, students are spreading anxiety and misinformation to their peers and the wider community because they have no way of actually knowing what is happening during a school-wide lockdown or other emergency. Misinformation not only ramps up anxiety unnecessarily, it can obstruct the work of adults trying to manage the situation. The Midtown administration prides itself on clear, accurate information being shared with families when we face safety challenges at school. We will continue to prioritize sharing quick and accurate information with families.

Finally, a phone-free school makes students safer every day from behaviors that negatively impact individual students and the whole school community. Students are less likely to skip class without a cell phone. Students are unable to communicate with one another to plan meet-ups during school hours to engage in unsafe activities like fighting, drug use, vaping, or leaving campus. Students are unable to access unsafe content like pornography, violent videos or damaging social media content during the school day.

Yes, we would have enough mobile magnets that we would be able to unlock student’s pouches in an evacuation scenario once we establish that students are safely away from any danger.

All MHS employees will continue to have their personal cell phones accessible during school hours. Furthermore, every MHS staff member wears a Centegix badge which allows them to call administrators and school resource officers at any time by simply pressing the button on the badge. Activating their badge calls an admin to an individual room for a health emergency or other classroom specific emergency (GPS allows the responders to see an exact location of the person calling). If the adult wearing the badge perceives a potential school-wide threat (like seeing a weapon on campus) they can activate their own badge to put the entire school into a lock-down. This system has been in place at Midtown during the 2023-24 school year, and it is a much more reliable and effective method of ensuring a swift response to emergencies than a cell phone.

Furthermore, there are offices with land-line telephones on every hallway in the building. And non-teaching administrative staff (assistant principals, principal, athletic directors, front office staff, graduation coach, student support, custodians, coaches, nurse, etc.) carry walkie-talkies that keep a “hive” of adults in constant contact with one another throughout the school day.

Students with documented health concerns will be given an alternate means to store their phones so that they can access them when for health reasons. These students will be expected to adhere to the PED-free policy in all other situations other than these very specific health-related needs.

As you know, Dr. Bockman reviews every report card each quarter. Teachers often include “glow and grow” remarks. Overwhelmingly teachers comment that cell phone use is a major impediment to focus and learning. Tardy arrival to class is also mentioned frequently! Parents, if a teacher mentions it on a report card, it is time to have a serious talk with your child.