The following is an excerpt of an email that I sent yesterday to a group of our high school parents who were inquiring about the announcement of a full “cell phone ban” in NYS that was made by our Governor. The excerpt of this email now serves as “Part III” of a topic that has been recently addressed in this blog, and also over the 12+ years as instructional technology has been on ongoing focus of mine since the very beginning.

The recent announcement by Governor Hochul about “banning” cell phones in all schools in NYS has certainly garnered a strong reaction from individuals who fall on both sides of the issue. While some are in strong support of this concept, there are others (believe it or not) who feel strongly about the opposite perspective particularly as it relates to students at the high school level. There are many reasons for this, including families wanting to stay “connected” to students during the school day. This is especially the case at our school given our open campus and the fact that all students leave the building for a period of time during the school day. As a parent of two high school students, for what it’s worth, I tend to fall with the latter and am happy that I can get in touch with my kids if needed. In terms of distraction, I do use my family plan to completely prevent them from accessing any gaming apps, social media apps, etc. during the school day. It’s actually very easy to do.

Now to our school…

Some of you may know the long history that our district has had with technology (all noted in my blog posts going back to 2013). We were one of the first one-to-one schools in the county, we encouraged “Bring Your Own Device” (including cell phones) and branding through social media, and of course emphasized the importance of teaching responsible use. This includes managing distractions, and of course the importance of developing a positive digital footprint. We have done a pretty incredible job on that front, and we don’t deal with nearly as many “online” issues with students as we had 7-10 years ago. As is also well known, our technology work served our high school really well during the pandemic as the transition to online learning was pretty much seamless given our experience and capacity.

Now to cell phones…

This of course has been a “hot topic” for the past few years and admittedly cell phones were a real distraction inside of the classroom in 2021-22 when we returned from the pandemic. This wasn’t surprising for obvious reasons as students had been home for a long period of time. Over the past two years, our school created a digital citizenship team of teachers who created guidelines for our school (and students) with regard to cell phones at the high school. This is outlined in our policy that is included on page 3, and states:

Ensuring that students are focused inside of the classroom is always our main priority. To accomplish this, our teachers plan engaging lessons and activities that are aligned to the specific learning outcomes of our IB Programs. In order to prevent distraction, cell phone use in classes is strictly prohibited without explicit teacher permission. All teachers have specific cell phone guidelines in their respective course syllabi and many teachers require students to place cell phones in holders or out of sight for the duration of class. Failure to comply can negatively impact class participation grades and can result in disciplinary action at the school level. 

In considering the design of the above policy, there were several factors that were considered, including:

• Few, if any, high schools in Westchester (and nationally) have a full “ban” on cell phones.

• A “blanket” no cell phone policy isn’t necessarily what all teachers want, and some might in fact allow students to listen to music when creating art, freewriting, or to access content in music class. Others have allowed students to utilize cell phones to enhance learning within the context of a lesson. 

• Teachers have professional discretion, and also have the backing of the school, for students who do not comply. This includes a potential impact on class grades and/or a referral for disciplinary action (insubordination). 

• Our role as a school is to educate and not necessarily to “ban” a tool that, like it or not, virtually every person now uses to stay connected and communicate. Our school has always taken the education stance right from the start as we were at the forefront of technology in schools. By teaching students to manage devices and to responsibly use these devices, we are doing them a service as they will soon enter college and/or the workforce where the stakes are much higher. 

• “Banning” these devices is more complicated than it seems. A few reasons: 
  • If students are coming to school with phones, that means that parents purchased them and in many cases want them to have them on their person; 
  • Many students also have watches, access to gaming on their computers, messaging on computers, etc. In effect, “banning” cell phones perhaps solves one issue only to exacerbate another; 
  • As noted earlier, our open campus allows students to leave school for extended periods of time and cell phones provide students with an important communication tool for emergencies. While it can be argued that once upon a time students went to lunch without phones, it can also be argued that we wouldn’t want to go back in time now that we have technology to better keep our kids safe. To this point, around ten years ago, we had created a high school App and encouraged all students to have it on their iPhone so we could send a push notification in case of emergency. Incredible how things have now changed; 
  • A full “ban” potentially leads to countless hours spent by teachers and school officials policing a policy that in reality will likely not enhance day-to-day teaching and learning. In the end, that is the main reason we are all here and the last thing we want is to spend our energy and attention on other areas that are not necessarily causing an issue. 

Daily Observations…

This is perhaps the one area that people who are not in the building on a day-to-day basis can never fully understand. As parents, we rely on unique examples that our children may give us, we read articles and books, we likely listen to individuals pushing certain agendas on TikTok or other social media outlets, and with that we form an image of what we think schools must look like now that students have cell phones in their hands. Admittedly, I have no idea what happens inside of my own children’s high school beyond what I note above. The truth is, though, the reality of what is happening (at least in our high school) and what is being purported are entirely different. Here’s some of my observations/takeaways:

• We are now midway through the school year and our assistant principal and I have conducted over 45 formal observations of our faculty and staff. At this point, we have not noted or needed to address students who are off task during a lesson due to a cell phone.

• Similarly, we have not received any disciplinary referrals nor have we needed to formally discipline any students for not complying with cell phone policies within the classrooms. 

• Our hallways are loud (sometimes too loud for my taste!) with students talking, laughing, and meeting up during passing times. Our hallways are never silent and filled with students who are staring at their phones.

• Similarly, our cafeteria is even louder than our hallways when our students return to the building from lunch. Again, students are talking, laughing, and yes, in some instances, gaming on their devices with one another.

Final Thoughts…

In the end, the Governor has recently called for a “ban” on cell phones in all schools in NYS that will potentially take effect as soon as next year. Once this policy is official, and as always, we will fully comply with whatever directive that we are given and will implement it to the fullest extent. In the meantime, I hope that my email provides you with some insight and some broader context around the issue. 

Thank you as always for being positive members of our school community and for always wanting what is best for our students. We share that in common, truly, and for that reason our high school is in an excellent place overall.