Recent conversations have pushed the topic of cell phones in schools into the spotlight, and brought to question where they belong in an educational space. The first plan of action earlier this school year was creating a focus group to aid in this task.
“One of the things from the comprehensive school improvement plan for our district was it talked about having a conversation around cell phones,” Kevin Morrison, Director of Human Services for FHSD and the creator of the focus group said. “Our goal is to talk to principals, get feedback, talk to the committee [focus group] again.”
The focus group was made up of a number of parents, teachers, administrators, staff members, board members and other community members. Meetings consisted of going through research, results of phone policies in neighboring districts and the results of the surveys sent out. All to find a reasonable policy tailored to the District.
“I think there was a general consensus amongst everyone that instructional time is definitely compromised by the use of cell phones in the classroom, particularly at the middle school and the high school levels,” Kris Newman, parent and member of the focus group said. “So I think we did all agree that there needs to be a change, something has to be done. But I do think everyone kind of brought something different to the group and had different ideas of how to do it.”
In Missouri, there are currently three bills in motion surrounding the issue. They do not seek to create a state-wide ban on cell phones, but require school districts to have restrictions put in place for learning environments. Although they differ in what they apply to, the bills would still give districts the ability to tailor their policies to fit their individualized needs. The bill that will end up moving forward after the hearings will most likely be a combination of the three.
“If that passes, those would be things that all schools would have to adhere to, not just Francis Howell,” Jennifer Jolls, Chief Communications Officer for FHSD said. “We understand the need to put some consistency in place here at Francis Howell, but at the same time, if the state were to come out at the end of their legislative session and say, ‘here’s a new law’ that will obviously impact our decision as well. There’s just a lot of moving parts right now, which makes [the decision] a little bit tricky.”
Schools in Missouri have already started implementing policies restricting cell phone usage on their own. According to the St. Charles West Student Handbook, cell phones are allowed before school, after school, during passing periods and at lunch only. They are highly discouraged, and students are recommended to keep them turned off and out of sight at all times. However, unlike FHSD, St. Charles is a one-to-one district, meaning Chromebooks are provided to every student. While there has been countless research proving phones to have a negative effect on student performance, in some cases such as ESOL students, or students with impaired hearing or vision, phones can provide students with resources that can aid in education. Additionally, many parents and students in today’s world have concerns about the ability to contact one another in the event of an emergency.
“I don’t believe a full phone ban is in the future for Francis Howell,” school board member Steven Blair said. “I think there might be versions of a partial phone ban that are more restrictive than the current policies. I believe a future solution would include having students with access to their phones, but clear directions on not using [them], which would allow students to use their phones in case of a critical emergency.”
The popular belief among administrators is that FHSD is inevitably going to create a phone policy in one way or another. The question of if the policies will actually be effective, however, is up to the method of enforcement.
“My primary concern is, who is going to be implementing this policy,” Sean Fowler, social studies teacher at North and member of the focus group said. “If it’s down on the teachers, then I have failed in my role in advocating with teachers because we already have too much to do. The one thing that was made very clear to me by other teachers, wherever they were on cell phones, is if this is left in the hands of teachers, and we have to be the cops on top of everything else, nothing’s gonna change.”
Any phone policy can only be effective through the right means of enforcement, which is another piece of the verdict. Many voices were involved in making this decision that will be finalized this spring and implemented next school year.
“I really think it’s important for people to know this isn’t like one person saying, ‘I’m going to go take away phones from kids’,” Jolls said. “It really is a group of stakeholders trying to get a well-rounded group of people to look at this from lots of angles, understanding that our main goal at the end of the day is to make sure that students learn. That’s what we’re all about in schools.”
