All’s quiet on the cellular front
When it comes to student use of cell phones in schools, we are at a tipping point. More and more educators are realizing that cell phones are detrimental to student learning. Banning their use during the school day represents an opportunity to reduce distractions and encourage positive social interactions. One of our schools began the current school year by announcing a total ban on student cell phone usage. The policy was met with widespread acceptance and little of the resistance we imagined could develop. Students have experienced, and teachers have witnessed, the benefit of improved communication and increased academic and social engagement. Read on to learn more about how this unfolded.
Until next time,
Paul Stein
Executive Director
Dearborn Embraces a New Cell Phone Ban
NEW POLICY SUPPORTS STUDENTS IN STAYING PRESENT AND UNDISTRACTED
Experience tells us that cell phone use in schools disrupts student engagement. Like many schools over the past decade, Dearborn Academy has navigated ways to teach responsible phone use and digital literacy. The ability to understand appropriate use – when it is ok and when it is not ok to access one’s phone – is an important transition skill to hone as students eventually enter college, the workplace, and their adult lives. Dearborn faculty had found that students with individual plans to turn in their phones to a staff member each day were happier, more connected, and learned better than their peers who were frequent in-school phone users.
Inspired by this finding, Dearborn implemented a new cell phone policy in September to limit distractions and promote a more focused learning environment for all students. The results and feedback have been remarkably positive, with students and families embracing the program from the beginning.
Each morning, students are given a lockable Yondr pouch to stow devices such as cell phones and smartwatches during the school day. The students then lock their pouch and keep it with them. At the end of the day, a staff member unlocks the pouch before they leave.
If a student needs to reach their caregiver, they can make or receive calls from a school desk phone. And if a caregiver needs to get in touch with their student, they simply call the front office, as had been the practice in the days before cell phones.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESULT?
Our students are much more engaged socially — the cafeteria at lunchtime is full of talking and laughter! Last year, at times it was only 1-2 tables where kids were engaging with each other.
Our students are reporting to their caregivers (albeit reluctantly) that they are glad we implemented this policy.
From the very first day, 98% of students independently accessed the lockable pouches without a fuss.
The other day we played a basketball game against a neighboring school and our stands were full of students cheering and interacting while theirs was silent as their students were looking at their phones — stark contrast!
-Rebecca Altepeter, Head of School, Dearborn Academy
I think we are seeing the benefits of the cell phone policy in ways that we weren’t even anticipating. While we knew that it would give students more time to spend on tasks in the classroom, where I see it having a more significant impact is in our ability to form connections in the unstructured parts of our school day. As a teacher, it was hard to compete with a fun cell phone game or a TikTok during those last few minutes of class when all the assignments are done. Now, we get to have conversations with our students. Some of our students appear more connected to our community, and are absolutely flourishing because they are not drawn into their phones as much! Our community feels stronger and more connected than ever.
-Hannah Sycks, English Teacher, Dearborn Academy
The new policy’s success underscores the importance of making space for real-life connections. Freed from digital distraction, we can fully engage with those around us and embrace the casual conversations, day-to-day personal storytelling, and hilarious non sequiturs that make us uniquely human. These real-life interactions not only fill our lives with vibrancy but also play a key role in social development during formative years and foster academic growth.
Dearborn’s initiative serves as a model for other educational institutions seeking to balance technology use with essential real-life interactions.