Urbana Middle School holding roundtable on new phone-free rule

URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) — Urbana Middle School is banning student cell phone usage during school hours. As they enact this major change, officials are interested in hearing feedback from the community and UMS families.

The new policy involves each student getting a Yondr pouch and locking their phone in it upon arriving at school. Students can then keep these pouches on them through the end of the school day, when they will use unlocking stations to retrieve their secured phones.

For emergencies, parents can call front office staff at 217-384-3685 or email their student’s school email.

UMS officials say this phone-free rule will better allow students to be fully attentive during class.

“We believe that phones have great utility. We have also found that learning and social behavior improve drastically when students are fully engaged with their teachers and classmates,” Principal Derrick Cooper said.

UMS will join 2,000 schools around the world who have already implemented Yondr pouches. They also follow other Central Illinois schools like Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Elementary and those in the Decatur and Springfield School Districts who are banning phones from school buildings this year.

A roundtable will be held on Aug. 28 from 5-6 p.m. at the middle school. There, community members can provide input on the new policy directly to UMS leadership.

In the meantime, questions can be made to UMS by calling 217-384-3685. There is also an FAQ on the school district w ebsite .

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