At the May 6 School Committee meeting, Day Middle School principal Jackie Mann, Newton North High School principal Henry Turner, and soon-to-be-departing Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Toby Romer discussed Newton Public School (NPS) policies regarding student cell phones.
Prior to the presentation, five different parents gave public comment in support of stricter NPS student cell phone policies, as well as generally warning about the harmful effects of cell phone usage on children. The parents identified themselves as having expertise in areas such as education, pediatrics, psychiatry, and technology policy, and they cited several alarming studies and metrics regarding the effects of cell phone use on children’s health.
One commenter was Alex Pascal, an elementary parent — who stated he was a technology and youth mental health policy advisor to President Biden’s Administration — told Fig City News, “I am concerned about adverse effects of smartphones and social media on the wellbeing, growth, and development of kids and teens because the evidence is abundant and clear: The presence of smartphones in K-12 schools undermines students’ learning and mental health. It’s a public health problem, but one that our community can do something about. We just have to act as a community.”
Following other agenda items, Mr. Romer began the presentation by noting all the problems that cell phones currently cause at NPS (see Slide 3). These problems include student distraction, frequent stepping out of classrooms, texting parents instead of speaking to school staff about illness or problems, anger when phones are confiscated, and problems with social media.
Ms. Mann stated that from November 2022 through May 2023, there were “close to 400 negative interactions” at Day Middle School due to cell phones, which prompted Day to seek a DESE grant to implement the Yondr program. Yondr is a magnetic pouch that secures a student’s phone during the school day. Ms. Mann showed a video clip (at 1:20:00 of the NewTV meeting replay) that shows how a student places their phone into a Yondr pouch while entering Day in the morning. Ms. Mann also said there were “opt-out” provisions for certain students who needed their phones during the day for medical or “social-emotional needs.”
Ms. Mann stated, “really nice children really don’t have control of their impulses with a phone in front of them, and sometimes positive things don’t take place.” She said the program has resulted in decreases in vandalism, bullying, and time spent outside of the classroom, and she shared that the Day faculty called the program a “gamechanger.”
Following Ms. Mann, Principal Henry Turner discussed Newton North HS’s cell-phone holder pilot. The holders are similar to large hanging pouches for shoes, and they are used for holding student cell phones during the day. Mr. Turner said since NNHS is an open campus with students arriving and leaving throughout the day, the Yondr program, which locks phones all day, would not work at that high school. Mr. Turner cited similar improvements to student behavior at NNHS that Ms. Mann did at Day, and he said the school’s goal for next year is 100% holder participation.
After the presentation, School Committee Chair Chris Brezski (Ward 2) noted that the School Committee has never implemented a district-wide cell-phone policy, and he agreed with prior speakers about the harmful effects phones have on school-aged children. Member Amy Davenport (Ward 7), who is also the principal of Westwood High School, said phones “provide an escape from challenge and discomfort, and the scariest thing about accessing a cell phone during class is that we’ve lost that moment of productive struggle, where just by virtue of leaving the room, [the student] no longer has to engage.”
The School Committee student representative at the meeting, who attends Newton South HS, stated that laptops in classrooms were a larger source of in-class distraction than cell phones. Member Barry Greenstein (Ward 8) stated that both the Yondr and shoe-pouch systems had problems, but he said he was unsure of what the solutions were.
During the discussion with Committee members, Mr. Romer said that the “greatest urgency and greatest challenge” is middle school, given that’s when the majority of children gain exposure to cell phones and also spans the ages when students are most susceptible to negative online influences. NPS estimates a cost of $50,000 per year to deploy Yondr at all four NPS middle schools. Ms. Mann said that the Day staff “can’t imagine going back to the way it was” prior to this school year’s implementation of the Yondr cell phone policy.
Following members’ comments to the presentation, Mr. Brezksi asked the Committee to discuss next policy steps and whether unbudgeted costs were the only reason to pause implementing a district-wide policy for the next school year. Superintendent Anna Nolin cautioned the Committee that it would take some time to work with the remaining school principals to hear which phone policies they thought would be feasible, as well as to research best practices across the state. The agenda item ended with general agreement that middle schools were the priority, and for NPS administrators to discuss options with principals.
After the meeting, Superintendent Anna Nolin told Fig City News:
I look forward to exploring this issue with our staff, families and students in the coming year. As a long-time middle school educator and principal, I saw first hand how cell phones in school dramatically changed the social and academic lives of middle schoolers and the job of middle school educators and leaders. As the parent of two children now in college, I weathered the challenge of cell phones with tweens and teens as well. The community’s interest in working on healthy technology use and cell phone policies is important and helpful. We look forward to the community dialogue.
Dr. Anna Nolin
The dialogue will likely include comments similar to those of Jessica Shinn, a Mason Rice parent who shared this perspective with Fig City News about the May 6 School Committee meeting:
We know that we are experiencing negative learning outcomes and high rates of anxiety, depression, cyberbullying, and sleep deprivation in our children. We also know that districts across the country and the world that have instituted smart phone bans have seen positive impacts on their students’ mental health and on learning outcomes…I know NPS can take the lead on this. The culture around smart phones can shift through our schools. My hope is that NPS institutes a policy of no personal smart devices in schools across all grades starting this September. We cannot waste any more time.
Jessica Shinn