Carson schools locking student cell phones during class

With every cell phone ding and buzz going off in her teachers’ classrooms at Carson Middle School, Principal Amy Robinson said one more distraction keeps students’ eyes off the content at hand.

“It seems like we’re spending a huge time managing phones instead of being focused on learning,” she said. “It’s been an issue, for sure.”

At Eagle Valley Middle School, Principal Lee Conley says his school’s “no cell-phone policy” that has been in place still leaves students sneaking in and grabbing for them at any time of the day.

“I probably average five to seven (students) a day where I see them trying to hide them in their pocket, and I’ll say, ‘Give me the phone in your left pocket — no, your other left pocket,’ right?”

The Carson City School District announced an initiative Tuesday to lock student cell phones and smart devices in secure pouches to be kept with the students and locked during school hours effective Aug. 19. Students will be required to turn off their devices, stow them in the district-issued pouch to be assigned by the school and kept in their backpack throughout the school day. Pouches will be unlocked as the final bell of the day rings, and students can again access their devices.

The move is intended to discourage digital dependence during the instructional day and to prevent students from experiencing any knee-jerk reaction to immediately answer every notification that pops up during the school day, Conley said.

“I think it’s human nature that we’ve become so ingrained that (the device is) like a third hand,” he said, adding it’s important to keep them engaged socially and academically in the classroom.

Superintendent Andrew Feuling hopes it’s a trend that will spur students toward “digital detachment” and dismissed any concerns about litigation from families who have expressed “overwhelmingly positive” responses from previous outcomes in other districts.

“Once it’s implemented, there’s almost like a little bit of a digital detox period and they see the benefit of not always having that 24/7 access, and so if we’re improving mental health concerns and things like that, I think there’s real potential with helping kids detaching,” Feuling said.

Carson City’s policy follows a national trend in which school districts are seeking to reduce students’ reliance on technology in the classroom and increase academic and social interaction. According to a study conducted by national nonprofit Common Sense Media last year, 97% of kids engaged with their phones at least once during school hours, some as much as six-and-a-half hours during the school day. Cell phone policies, the study indicated, were not always being enforced.

Interventions have been considered on a growing scale this year in California, Utah, Oklahoma, Kansas, Florida and others. Lawmakers have been introducing “phone-free” legislation. U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton, R-Arkansas, and Tim Kaine, D-Virginia, introduced legislation in December that would require a federal study on the effects of cell phone use in schools on students’ mental health and academic performance. Proposed bills incorporate concerns about the mounting impacts of digital distractions.

The move announced by Carson City school administrators Tuesday targets Carson High, Carson Middle and Eagle Valley Middle schools. The pouches are provided by San Francisco vendor Yondr.

Yondr pouches. (Jessica Garcia photo)

Levi Davis, who enters Carson Middle as a seventh grader this year, believes it will help him and his peers. He felt it’s fair to students who are already using Chromebooks for classroom technology needs and said he’s never had to use his phone for other academic activities.

“I feel it would help a lot of students because there are a lot of things that happen in the schools with kids and the phones, so I think it help education improve at the schools,” he said.

Addy Perkins, also entering the seventh grade at Carson Middle, said she thinks the pouches will help to eliminate students’ use of phones to film altercations or other distracting behaviors.

“I don’t think people will be able to text their friends during the day to talk about meeting up in places or going to the bathroom,” she said. “Also, some kids use their phones to sneak into class.”

The pouches cost CCSD a total of $150,000 from its Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funding, providing savings from its general fund dollars, district spokesman Dan Davis said. Since they were bought in bulk, the district received a discount. If students or parents are found to tamper with the pouch, a $35 fee will be assessed.

Carson High’s Blue Crew students, who will help to welcome freshmen next week and promote school spirit, began preparing the pouches for distribution and use by scanning and placing barcodes in sleeves. Incoming students will receive their Yondr pouches when they pick up Chromebooks and other supplies.

Senior Ryan Vincent said he thought there could be other answers to helping students with digital distractions.

“I feel like there’s better solutions like the big box where you put the phones in because at least you can still get them,” he said.

Spokesman Dan Davis said disciplinary action for offenses by students caught using a device would differ among the schools but would vary from having phones taken to the front offense to parents retrieving them from the school up to in-school suspensions at the third or fourth violation.

Carson High Principal Dan Carstens on Tuesday said ensuring engagement ultimately is the objective for all students. He said there was much “front-loading” with staff to make sure the proper steps were taken to prepare for this policy at the high school level.

“Our kids need to engage with each other verbally, and that’s why we’re doing this,” he said. “It’s not an easy decision. It’s a big lift, and we wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t think it was worth it.”

Carstens said he thought the move does bring Carson High in line with many other schools nationally at a critical time.

“I’m sure we’ll have parents saying, ‘I need my student with their cell phone all the time,’” he said. “But it’s a focus point this year to address the engagement in our classrooms because we do not want to fail as a school system. And if we increase our engagement by removing the cell phone and increasing our game in the classroom, we’re not just expecting the kids to pay attention but making sure we deliver those highly engaging lessons as well. Let’s up our game, too.”