In a change of policy, Hamilton now plans to move forward with the implementation of locked Yondr pouches, aiming to encourage student engagement.
Next week, the pounches will be given out to each student, who will need to bring them everyday, following district policy. The pouches will remain locked all day until dismissal, where there will be an unlocking base.
In a recent Local School Leadership meeting on Zoom, Ms. Pollock, a history teacher in Humanities, said, “We need to take action on acceptable times for phone usage.”
She emphasized that phones should be put away during school hours.
Ms. Baxter said in an interview that it has been a challenge to have students keep their phones in their backpacks all day.
“It’s been really tough for teachers and for out-of-classroom staff to enforce that without the pouches,” Ms. Baxter said. “We’ve been really working hard to develop trust with students and to create systems where students just need to put them away, but they’re just not.”
However, many students have expressed their frustration with this new policy and their concerns about emergencies and the inconvenience of having their phones in pouches during dismissal and breaks.
Ms. Baxter said that the staff are “thinking of more activities for students to participate in during nutrition and lunch so that they are engaged.”
Understanding students’ concerns, staff are complying with district protocols and trying to find ways to improve compliance and solve those gaps.
Many teachers believe that this is a good plan and have already seen growth in student phone usage.
Ms. Sidley, an art history teacher in Humanities, said that having a relaxed phone policy impacts student learning.
“It has hindered performance in the classroom, not just within the classroom but all across the board,” Ms. Sidley said. “I believe that we have to take extreme measures.”
The effectiveness of the phone policy will be evaluated and adjusted over time, Local School Leadership members agreed. Staff will develop specific plans over the next few weeks.
