Some Anchorage, Mat-Su schools opting for cellphone-free classrooms this year
MSBSD will issue locking pouches to students in three of its schools
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A handful of schools within the Anchorage and Matanuska-Susitna Borough school districts are implementing a new cell phone policy this year requiring students to let go of their phones during academic hours.
The new policies look different from school to school. At South Anchorage High School, graphing calculator holders have been placed in each of its 60 classrooms for students to place in before each period.
Principal Luke Almon said it’s building on the policy South implemented last year, which just required students to keep their phones on silent and out of sight.
“We’re going to ask kids to store them in a central location in the classroom — which is secure, where the teacher has access to it — and so for the class period, no phones whatsoever,” Almon said. “That means none that leave to go to the hallways, they don’t go to restrooms, because those are areas where they often cause a distraction and can actually cause some negative consequences.”
Almon said it was left up to teacher discretion last year whether phones would be placed in a central location.
This year, it’s mandatory, and will also require students to put away their earbuds daily and smartwatches on test days.
According to ASD’s assistant director of communications, publications, and external affairs Corey Allen Young, all traditional middle and high schools in the district are implementing cell phone policies this year, but those policies will vary between schools.
Three schools in the Mat-Su — namely Palmer High School, Palmer Junior Middle School, and Su Valley Jr/Sr High School — are taking no cell phone use one step further, issuing locking pouches made by the company Yondr.
Yondr pouches are storage bags that are locked magnetically by hand, but require an unlocking base to open. The students will maintain possession of their phones, but the pouch prevents access.
In written communication Tuesday afternoon, Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District public information officer John Notestine said students will seal their pouches at the beginning of the day and the pouches will remain sealed until the end of the school day. Students who rely on their phones for medical reasons will be given a different pouch with a velcro enclosure.
He also said that schools would communicate their expectations whether or not smartwatches and earbuds would be allowed in classrooms.
According to data on Yondr’s website, 83% of schools that have implemented the locking pouch reported an increase in student engagement, 74% reported improvement in student behavior, and 65% say academic performance has increased.
The pouches, which are part of a pilot program funded by the borough’s school district, cost $25 each.
The announcement has sparked concern on social media among Valley parents, who worry that their kids won’t be able to contact them in the event of an emergency.
Notestine said that every high school classroom is equipped with a phone to call 911, and that schools will notify parents of any emergency using the district’s communication system.
ASD said it is not aware of any Anchorage school implementing the Yondr pouches.
Almon said South’s new policy is a good middle ground between Yondr pouches and having no cell phone policy at all, in that it teaches kids to have self control by allowing them to access their phones in between classes.
“We’re trying to coach kids on good habits [and] make class time sacred,” Almon said. “You use your passing period as you see fit, as long as you’re not harassing or disrupting other people, and then we’ll get back to businesses when we start the following class.”
Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.
