Phone-free pilot program in Fairfax County Public Schools

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. ( DC News Now ) — The start of the 2024-2025 academic year should come with fewer distractions for students in several schools that are part of a phone-free pilot program.

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) said the goals of the effort, which begins on Sept. 3, are to “limit classroom disruptions and improvement student engagement and learning” by creating an environment in which students aren’t distracted by cellphones or social media.

The pilot program is in place at a number of middle and high schools:

Participating Middle Schools

• Frost Middle School
• Irving Middle School
• Jackson Middle School
• Poe Middle School
• Robinson Middle School
• Thoreau Middle School
• Twain Middle School

Students who are in the pilot program at a participating middle school will receive a special cellphone storage pouch called a Yondr pouch. The magnetic pouch stops students from using phones, including for social media activity, texting, and making phone calls. The school division said each student is reposnsible for his/her individual pouch which the student brings to school every day.

Each morning, students lock their cellphones in the pouches and put the pouches in their backpacks. Airpods have to be in the pouches or backpacks. Smartwatches have to be off or in airplane mode. Students unlock their pouches at the end of the school day.

If there’s a family emergency, parents/guardians/caregivers should contact the a school’s front office.

Participating High Schools

• Edison High School
• Falls Church High School
• Justice High School
• Lewis High School
• Madison High School
• McLean High School
• Robinson High School
• Westfield High School

Students who are in the pilot program at a participating high school will place their cellphones into storage unites at the beginning of each class.

People who have questions about the program will find answers to many frequently asked ones on Fairfax County Public Schools’ website . The school division said people also may contact their children’s school.

There has been a push in other school divisions as well as from lawmakers in Richmond and the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) to ban cellphones in schools in the state.

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