It’s a modern day rule most schools have: no phones in class. But buzzing phones in pockets can still provide distractions for some students, while others find ways around the rules.
Three high schools in Jessamine County have a new plan to cut down on cell phone distractions when school returns this fall.
“Cell phones are becoming a distraction for teenagers, they're becoming a distraction for teachers,” said West Jessamine High School Principal Brady Thornton. “We can't continue to challenge our kids in the classroom while fighting against what those cell phones are bringing.”
Schools already had the policy that students couldn’t have phones out in class, but students found ways around it. This is an adjustment to the policy.
Working together, East Jessamine High, West Jessamine High, and Jessamine Career and Technology Center updated their policy aimed at limiting phone interference with learning.
This isn’t a school board decision, but the three schools felt the need to come together and use the same policy for the ease of students and teachers.
“This isn’t just an East thing, a West thing, a JCTC thing, this is a youth thing, and we all need to be working together,” said East Jessamine High School Principal Chris Hawboldt.
“This policy, with all three campuses being on the same page, our teachers are absolutely gonna love,” JCTC Assistant Principal Ryan Thomas added.
The policy works a little something like this. Students can have their phone in between classes, out in the hallways, and in the lunchroom.But once students walk inside the classroom, it’s time to put the phones away, by looking for a group of pouches hanging in the classroom.
Students will find their assigned number and slide their phone into the pouch for the duration of class.
“When they leave class they can have it back,” Hawboldt said. “In between class change, that five-minute class change they’re able to use their phone, during lunch they’re able to use their phone. It’s just during that instructional 55 minutes, not be able to use that phone.”
Thornton added, “If parents are concerned about getting ahold of their student, they’ll be able to check that phone every hour. And then during lunch period, which is half an hour, they’ll be able to have it.”
Since announcing the policy change, the principals shared they have received plenty of feedback.
“Every conversation that I have had has been positive, Hawboldt said of his discussion with parents. “I have not received any negative feedback about it.”
“From our students we’ve gotten feedback as well,” said Thornton. “The kids aren’t excited about it, but they acknowledge it’s an issue and that there probably needs to be done something different.”
Though the face-to-face conversations have been positive, some parents have voiced concerns on social media about reaching their student during the day or during an emergency.
Hawboldt said parents “can call the front office, and we will make sure that we pass something along to your student or get your student for you.”
“These phones are not leaving the classroom,” added Thornton. “If there is a situation that requires a lockdown, those kids are going to have access to that phone in that classroom.”
Other parents shared concerns about theft in the classroom, but Thornton shared, “we deal with stolen items all the time at a high school, and we’re usually pretty good about recovering those. We don’t anticipate that this is going to increase that number of issues.” He also pointed out that a they would only have 20 to 25 immediate suspects to talk to if someone did have a phone stolen in class.
Ultimately, the principals agreed that the policy will help educators teach students a lesson without having to ban cell phones altogether.
“Phones are a fact of life,” Thornton said. “They’re not going away, so we have to teach them the right times to use them and not. Very rarely in life is there a situation where you have to go without it for eight hours.”
Thomas added “We just want to push to kids that using your cell phones in classrooms is obviously not best practices but here in a few years in the workplace, which is what we’re trying to ultimately prepare kids for, cell phone usage is also not going to fly. We wanted to set that standard for kids now too.”
The policy will take effect this upcoming school year.
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