'Biggest obstacle to student achievement': Some IPS teachers want stricter cellphone policy

A group of Shortridge High School teachers and students would like to see the Indianapolis Public Schools administration adopt stricter policies on students’ cellphone use at school.

The teachers are urging the district to take advantage of a new law passed earlier this year that bans “any portable wireless device” from being used during class time. The law gives school districts discretion on how to implement the ban and also allows some exceptions for cellphone use in schools.

IPS's current “ personal technology device” policy says students may have cellphones at school but the devices must be turned off and put away during school hours. The policy also gives principals the choice to allow cellphone use in their schools for “educational purposes.”

But a number of teachers and students who spoke at Tuesday's IPS meeting would like to see the policy go one step further and include consequences for students who do not comply.

The teachers said they feared that the pervasive use of cellphones during class interferes with students' academic success and their mental health.

Jonathan Bernardi, a math teacher at Shortridge High School, said that since he started teaching nine years ago he has seen the negative academic and emotional impacts of cellphones on students.

“On that first week as a teacher nine years ago I realized that the cellphones were the biggest obstacle to student achievement and student progress,” Bernardi told board members.  “And over the last nine years, it has only gotten worse.”

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In a follow up interview, Bernardi told IndyStar that Shortridge tried to implement a tiered system of consequences for students who broke the rules. If a student repeatedly failed to comply, the plan allowed teachers to confiscate the student's device for a week. IPS administration told the school, however, that they could not keep the phones for that length of time.

“I think what is essential is that there has to be consequences,” Bernardi said. “I can spend anywhere from two minutes to 35 minutes of a class telling kids to put their phones away, but if they refuse, there isn’t much I can do.”

At Shortridge, Bernardi said most teachers have a policy that allows students to use their cellphones for educational purposes, but the problem arises when students don't follow directions to put the phone away.

Shortridge biology teacher Gladys Murage told board members students constantly use headphones during class, which prevents them from learning effectively.

“No matter how great the lesson plan you plan for the day, no matter how much excitement you have, they are already shut down,” Murage said.

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Bernardi said he understands the desire from parents to have contact with their child and doesn't think phones should be banned from schools entirely, but his main concern is phone use during class time.

A group of Shortridge students also spoke at Tuesday’s meeting to voice their support for more regulations for cellphones in class.

Noa Kaufman-Nichols, a rising senior at Shortridge High School, told IndyStar she’s not sure what policy could be 100% effective but she would like to see the administration develop better rules to help teachers do their job more effectively.

“I have amazing teachers, so I feel like they really deserve the best policy possible,” Kaufman-Nichols said. “Like if they're teaching me so well while having to fight the phones, imagine how well they could teach me if they didn't constantly have to fight the phones.”

IPS school board commissioner Nicole Carey, who spearheaded work on modifying many other district policies in recent months, said on Tuesday that the board opted to delay looking at cellphones since the state legislature was making changes to state law.

“This is definitely something we’ll have to revisit,” Carey said.

Contact IndyStar reporter Caroline Beck at 317-618-5807 or CBeck@gannett.com . Follow her on Twitter: @CarolineB_Indy .

Caroline’s reporting is made possible by Report for America and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation .

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This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'Biggest obstacle to student achievement': Some IPS teachers want stricter cellphone policy