Ankeny School District considering district-wide cellphone ban

ANKENY, Iowa — The Ankeny Community School District is considering the implementation a district-wide ban on cellphones and other wireless devices.

Several metro schools have already implemented similar bans. Hoover High School in Des Moines implemented a policy for this upcoming school year where students have to keep their phones in their bags. Another Des Moines school, Bergman Academy , passed an outright ban on phones where students have to keep phones locked up during the school day starting this fall.

At Ankeny schools, students K-12 would have to keep their cellphones turned off and put away from when the first bell rings to the final bell.

Samantha Aukes, chief of communications for the Ankeny Community School District, said that while students in the district are doing well in math, science, and English, the district hopes that by implementing the ban they can further improve student learning.

“What our superintendent really envisions for our school district is how do we push past that and be in the 90th percentile. And so what we’re really looking at is going from being a good school district to being a great school district.”

Aukes also said cellphones are a major distraction for students, and it causes teachers to spend more time addressing student behavior than teaching.

“We’re looking to eliminate anything that’s distracting our students from learning and getting ready for their future,” Aukes said. “And, also, it’s really pulling our teachers and our principals time away to address behaviors when we really want them focused on being instructional leaders in our buildings.”

The district sent out a survey to parents, students, and staff for feedback. The number one concern the district has received from parents is how they will be able to contact their child in an emergency.

Aukes said with the current policy there are exceptions for students who need assistive technology or use their phone for a medical purpose. She also said that students will still be allowed to have their phones on their person and would be able to turn it on if an emergency happened.

The district survey is open through September 14. If the school board approves the policy it could be implemented as soon as October.

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