Stevens Now a “Phone-Free Zone”

By Noelle Kronberg
Eagle Times Education Writer

CLAREMONT, N.H. — Students at Stevens High School will be starting the school year in a “phone-free zone” next week and parents and students are taking to social media to express anger and concern.

A letter sent to all Stevens families included announced the Yondr Program, a system for students to secure and store their phones during the school day. Each student will be provided with a Yondr pouch. As they walk into the building, staff will tell students to turn off their phones, put them into their pouches and lock them. Students may carry their phones in the pouches throughout the day, but won’t be able to access them.

Once locked, pouches can only be unlocked at one of eight designated “unlocking stations.” Students can unlock the pouches when they leave school, including upperclassmen who have earned privileges and leave campus for lunch.

The Yondr procedures differ from the official Claremont School Board policy on electronics which were adopted in 2018. The policy states, “students are prohibited from using cell phones and personal electronic devices during instructional times throughout the school day. This includes all class blocks, structured study and advisory periods.”

With the Yondr procedures in place, cell phone use will be prohibited during all school hours while students are on campus.

Students without privileges to leave campus will be required to keep their pouches locked through lunch and bo student will have access to phones between periods or other breaks. Under the previous rules, these were times that students could use their phones. Some teachers also allowed students to listen to music on their phones during independent work times. The new procedures will eliminate this.

“School board policies are generally written to allow school administrators latitude to develop procedures that best meet their student body’s educational, climate and culture needs,” said School Board Chair Heather Whitney.

Stevens Principal Chris Pratt clarified that the board creates the policies and the schools create the procedures.

Parent concerns have centered around their ability to check in with their child, particularly during an emergency. Many parents cited examples of students elsewhere being able to contact 911 or their families during school shootings.

“Phones in school can have a tremendous negative impact on any school emergency that requires lockdowns,” said Pratt. “Unfortunately, we live in a world where school shootings do take place and law enforcement and schools have learned a lot about how to work together to put in best practices. If phones are being used during an intruder situation and it goes off, now, an intruder knows where students are.”

“Law enforcement has also learned that students calling from inside the school are bringing parents and families to the school, adding more unsafe situations and not allowing first responders to focus on the threat,” Pratt said. “Lastly, phones have been used to post on social media during an intruder [event] and, in past situations, school shooters have used social media to obtain more information about the location of students.”

Students who rely on cell phones for medical support, such as bluetooth-connected insulin pumps, will be given a medical exemption and allowed to carry their phone without a pouch. The phone will need to be kept away unless needed.

The pouches cost $15 to $30 per student annually and each student is responsible for bringing their pouch to school and keeping it in good condition. If a student forgets or damages their pouch, school personnel will refer to the discipline matrix. Instances of refusal to use the pouch are equal to insubordination/non-compliance and could lead to suspension from school.

In 2019, prior to the explosion in popularity of video apps like TikTok, Common Sense Media conducted a national survey that showed teenagers spend over 7 hours per day on mobile devices. Studies show that now it is more like 9 to 10 hours. Globally, schools often blame cell phone and social media usage for teen bullying, distractedness and mental health issues. Research published by the National Institutes of Health support these claims.

Yondr has partnered with thousands of schools in 16 different countries, since 2014. The company claims that 83% of the schools they work with see an improvement in student engagement, 74% see an improvement in student behavior and 65% see an improvement in academic performance.