We’re excited to introduce our new ‘Away for the Day’ campaign, designed to help students disconnect from their phones and fully engage with their school day. In a world where distractions are just a tap away, this initiative encourages focus, connection, and personal growth.
IMPLEMENTATION PLAN
MVRHS will be using the Yondr pouches for storage of students personal electronic devices during the school day. Pouches will be given to students on the first day of school. All devices (including but not limited to: mobile phones, earbuds, headphones, smartwatches) need to be off or on “silent” and will be locked in the pouch until the student’s dismissal. Pouches will remain in the students’ possession. We believe that this policy will bring several benefits to our educational community:
- Improved Academic Performance: Research indicates that phone usage during school hours negatively impacts academic performance. By limiting phone access, students may be more focused and engaged in their studies.
- Reduced Distractions: Research and observation indicates that phones can be a significant distraction in the classroom, not only for the phone user but also for those around them.
- Enhanced Social Interaction: Research indicates that reducing phone usage addresses the current trend of social deprivation among adolescents by encouraging students to interact more with their peers in the hallways, in the cafeteria, and during down time, resulting in stronger social skills and a deeper sense of community.
- Mental Health Benefits: Research shows that limiting social media and smartphone use can help reduce anxiety and cyberbullying, promoting healthier social and emotional development.
Implementing a policy that restricts students from using their phones during the school day will be a significant shift from previous years, but the policy is designed to improve the learning environment and reduce distractions.
Daily starting at 7:30 am, all students will be asked to lock up their phones upon entry. At 7:40 am, all students should report to class. If a student is tardy to school, they should go to the front office to sign in/get a pass. Students can ONLY enter and exit the school through the front door once school starts. If a student leaves during the day and needs to return into school, they must come through the front door. During the school day, all students who are ‘in’ school (even field trips) must have their phones locked up. The only exception is for seniors in good standing on open campus/lunch or medical reasons.
Students forgetting their pouch:
- Students will check in with the front office and leave phones in lockboxes for the day. They will write out a tag to label the spot for the phone.
- 3 lockboxes will be mounted in the front office for collection.
- Students will collect their phones at the end of the school day.
| Phone Infractions | Tiered Consequences |
|---|---|
| First Offense: This includes any time the phone is seen or used during the school hours. | Confiscation Until End of Day: The phone is confiscated and can be picked up by the student from the office at the end of the school day.Parent Notification: Parents or guardians are notified about the infraction and the potential for more serious consequences if the behavior continues. |
| Second Offense: | Confiscation and Parent Retrieval: The phone is confiscated and can only be retrieved by a parent or guardian from the school office.Detention: The student serves a detention during lunch or after school.Behavioral Contract: The student signs a contract agreeing to comply with the phone policy, understanding the consequences of further violations. |
| Third and Subsequent Infractions: | Confiscation and Parent Retrieval: The phone is confiscated and can only be retrieved by a parent or guardian from the school office.In-School Suspension: The student may face in-school suspension for continued non-compliance.Loss of Privileges: Additional privileges, such as participating in extracurricular activities or attending school events, may be revoked.Guardian Conference: A meeting is held with the student, Guardian(s), teachers, and an administrator to develop a plan for compliance. |
Burner Phones:
Burner phones will be confiscated and not returned to the students. Please do not place burner phones into the pouches.
Other Considerations:
If a student loses or forgets their pouch, they will be required to turn their phones into the SAO/front office. A replacement pouch costs approximately $30.00. A purposely destroyed pouch will cost $30.00. The first replacement pouch will cost $15.00; subsequent lost pouches will cost $30.00. Students arriving late to school will be required to turn their phone into the SAO/ front office for the day.
By establishing a structured and tiered consequence system, MVRHS can effectively enforce a phone-free space while maintaining a positive and supportive learning environment.
SUPPORTING RESEARCH
Benefits of Phone-Free Policy
Phone-Free Schools Movement’s in depth discussions with administrators who have effectively implemented phone-free policies have consistently highlighted the same positive outcomes. Below are some of the tangible benefits noted by these administrators:
- Less distractions: Teachers report improved focus, attention and comprehension leading to better skills and grades.
- Less cyberbullying
- Fewer fights and social media related drama: Administrators report spending less time on discipline referrals.
- Increased engagement: Students engage more with their peers and teachers both in and outside of the classroom.
- Improved attendance: Students aren’t texting their parents to call them out of school
- Boosted efficiency: Teachers report being ahead of schedule on their lesson plans because they aren’t spending time policing phones, and because students are completing classwork and assignments faster.
- More reading: Phone-free schools report an increase in books checked out from their libraries.
- Improved teacher morale and retention
- Less mid-class absenteeism: Students request to use the restroom less frequently and trips to the restroom are shorter because students aren’t using that time to be on their phones.
- More vibrant lunchrooms: Lunchrooms at phone-free schools are markedly louder because students are having face-to-face conversations with their peers.
- Less cheating
- Less reported stress among students: School counselors are seeing a decrease in the rate of mental health related student visits.
In summary, a phone-free policy provides students with an average of 7 hours each school day to be fully present and free from the pressures and harms of phones and social media. This policy helps them restore connections and reclaim a critical period in their development.
Please consider the following books, articles, and podcasts of current research:
- The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt
- Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention and How to Think Deeply Again, by Johann Hari
- Podcasts: Hard Fork (NYTimes Audio) – starts at approx. 30min
- End the Phone-Based Childhood Now, by Jonathan Haidt, from the Atlantic
- The Screenagers Podcast
ADDRESSING CONCERNS AROUND PHONE USAGE
This document provides a summary of the questions and concerns shared during last year’s community forums and student roundtables. We’ve thoughtfully incorporated this feedback into our planning process.
- Away for the Day Letter to Students (August 27, 2024)
- Away for the Day Letter to Parents/Guardians (August 27, 2024)
- Away for the Day: Rethinking Phone Use at MVRHS (April 23, 2024)
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q: Why is our school adopting a phone-free policy?
A: The school day is when students need to be able to focus, learn, interact with each other, build in-person community, and engage with teachers. Study data shows that having a cell phone, even turned off in their backpack, decreases student test scores. A phone and social media free school gives students back many needed opportunities for development.
Q: What is included in a cell phone and personal electronic device definition?
A:
- Cell phones (both phones that connect to the internet and non-internet connected phones that send and receive text messages, and make phone calls)
- Personal electronic devices such as electronic tablets and video games
- Airpods, earbuds and Bluetooth connected headphones
- Smartwatches and fitness trackers that connect to the internet
Q: What if my child needs their phone in case of a crisis or lockdown at the school?
A: School security experts say phones can make children less safe in crisis situations for the following reasons:
- Student use of cell phones during an unfolding emergency can distract their attention from safety and emergency response directions being given by school staff.
- Cell phone use by students can hamper rumor control and, in doing so, disrupt and delay effective public safety personnel response.
- Cell phone use by students can impede public safety response by accelerating parental and community arrival at the scene of an emergency during times when officials may be attempting to evacuate students to another site.
- Victims and worried family members trying to get through can jam communications, interfering with first responders.
For more information: National School Safety and Security Services
Q: How do I contact my student during the school day? (i.e. schedule change, after-school activity)
A: Parents and/or guardians who need to contact their student during the school day and or change the pick-up time of your child, may do so by calling the main office. Contacting your child via their cell phone during the school day distracts them from their studies and the needed in-person interaction with their teachers and peers. By having 24/7 access, we prevent growth opportunities that our children need educationally, socially, and developmentally. If students text their parents every time they have a question, they miss the opportunity to think for themselves and develop problem solving skills.
Q: What if my child needs to contact me during the school day?
A: If a student needs to contact their parent or guardian during the school day, a phone will be available in the main office.
Q: Why can’t teachers be in charge of the class and collect the phones?
A: Children need consistency and one policy for the entire school benefits all students. Teachers benefit by regaining classroom instructional time instead of having to police phones, as monitoring phones takes time and energy away from teaching and supporting students. If there is a consistently enforced building-wide policy in place then students are less likely to push back on the policy.
Q: Why is it important to allow our children to be independent during the school day?
A: Students need to be given independence from their parents or guardians during the school day to develop foundational skills. Constant contact can fuel a cycle of anxiety for both students and parents. Research shows encouraging independence fosters a child’s self-confidence, resilience, problem-solving ability, and mental health.
Q: What if my child has a medical condition that must be monitored by their cell phone?
Students with medical issues that require cell phones will continue to have access to their phones via a 504 plan.
Q: Will it be harder for students to make connections and friends if they are offline all day?
A: Social media tends to foster asynchronous interactions leading to greater levels of anxiety, loneliness, and depression. In-person socializing forms far stronger connections and supports the development of healthier social and emotional skills.
Q: Don’t some students benefit from having social media?
Even for students who use social media for connection and activism, it is still a distraction during school hours. As a school community, we work hard to foster a culture of inclusion. Our goal is to limit use during the school day to minimize disruption and mitigate the potential harms of social media dependency.
Q: Isn’t it better to teach kids to use phones responsibly rather than take them away?
A: Brain science research and expert psychiatrists say the adolescent brain is not able to manage the addictive pull of cell phones and social media. The social media platforms and games that young people spend much time on were deliberately designed to be addictive. Additionally, part of teaching responsible use is creating phone-free zones that help students understand that phones are a tool to be used at specific times in specific ways, rather than being something that is on and used 24/7.
CONTACT
Please reach out to our planning team at awayfortheday@mvrhs.org with your thoughts and questions at any time.