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Phone-free pilot program in Fairfax County Public Schools
By Brian Farrell,
21 hours ago
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.
Mobile phones are locked into ‘Yondr’ pouches before people enter an exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum on November 22, 2019 in New York City. Yondr creates phone-free spaces for artists, educators, organizations and individuals. – When Adam Weiss arrived at a New York theater to see a Broadway show, he was dismayed to learn he would have to lock up his cell phone. The team behind “Freestyle Love Supreme,” an improvisation comedy show co-created by Lin-Manuel Miranda of “Hamilton” musical fame, requires audience members to keep their mobiles in a locked pouch during the performance. “It’s a bit like being without a part of myself,” the 39-year-old Weiss said. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP) (Photo by ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)
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.
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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