Students in Marshwood district schools will no longer be allowed to have their cell phones operating in the classroom.
A policy passed by the SAD35 School Board in December requires Marshwood High and Middle School students to keep their phones in a locked bag, while any Great Works School students who bring cell phones to school must keep them in their backpacks.
Beginning Feb. 23, after the winter break, high school students will be required to place their phones in bags that are magnetically locked and can be unlocked only at designated locations in the building.
Students at the Middle School have been required to keep their phones put away since the school year began, but pouches will be required beginning March 1, according to Assistant Superintendent Ryan Cormier.
At the high school, students were previously allowed to access their phones between classes and during lunch. Also, any students with a SAC pass earned for good grades and fewer than five absences per quarter could use their phones during study hall periods.
Parents of students at the Great Works School were told in December that as of Jan. 5 their fourth and fifth graders are required to keep phones and other devices in their backpacks. Families can message children by calling the school office, and children can use the school phone to call their family.
Cell phones are not allowed at either Central or Eliot Elementary, but since both schools house Grades K-3, few students have cell phones, Cormier said.
The high school process was delayed until February to allow staff time to ensure the effective management of related arrival and dismissal cell phone procedures, he said.
During the next week and a half before the break, high school administrators will meet with each of the four grades to explain the arrival and dismissal process and distribute magnetic lock pouches made by Yondr.
The pouches work by using a strong magnetic lock to secure a phone inside a soft case, allowing the user to keep their device with them but rendering it inaccessible until unlocked by a special magnetic base at an exit or designated area.
Upon their return from school vacation Feb. 23, high school students will lock phones, watches and any other connected devices into these bags when they enter the building “so that they are distraction-free during the school day,” Principal Richard Gowers wrote to parents.
The cell phone policy requires students to be responsible for keeping the pouch workable and not tampering with it. Students may also choose to leave cell phones at home or in their car during the school day.
The majority of feedback has been positive, particularly after it was decided students would always keep possession of their devices, according to Cormier.
Concerns about school safety were raised during the School Board’s workshops prior to adoption of the policy. The school resource officer has said that in the event of an emergency, the absence of phone distractions allows for clear, direct communication between staff and students, according to Cormier.
“Data from real emergencies shows that focusing on direct communication helps keep school communities safer than situations in which students are distracted by their devices,” he added.
The high school has phones in every classroom that students can use to call outside numbers, and the main office has four designated student phones that can be used for private conversations.
The School Board policy will require the administration at each school to communicate the district’s rules and school-based procedures to all students, families and staff during August of each year, and throughout the year.
The communication will include information on how a family can contact their student’s school in the event of an emergency and how the school will support a student to contact family in the event of an emergency.
