Disconnected: Student cellphone bans take hold in Anchorage

Students locomotion done nan halls during a passing play astatine Wendler Middle School connected Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 (Tim Rockey/Alaska Public Media)

On a caller afternoon, Wendler Middle School Principal Marcus Wilson watched complete nan hallways during a passing period. Students walked to people carrying books, binders and calculators. But noticeably absent: cellphones. Wilson was 1 of nan first principals successful nan Anchorage School District to prohibition phones during nan schoolhouse time and, he said, parents person supported nan strict policy.

“Parents, surprisingly, were 100% down it and were thanking nan school, because it really did return nan conflict retired of their hands wherever they didn’t person to conflict their kids astir putting devices away,” Wilson said. 

Across nan country, educators for illustration Wilson are wrestling pinch cellphones successful schools. A increasing number of districts are banning nan devices each together, citing antagonistic impacts connected learning and students’ intelligence health.

The Anchorage School District already has rules astir ways students can’t usage cellphones — for illustration they can’t usage phones to cheat aliases bully each other. But it’s up to individual principals correct now to enforce those rules, and to determine whether students tin person their phones successful classrooms and hallways astatine all.

Wilson is among astir a twelve Anchorage mediate and precocious schoolhouse principals who person started banning aliases restricting students’ cellphone use. Many parents person praised nan move, but not each student has been eager to unplug. Still, principals opportunity they’re seeing an contiguous effect successful students’ attraction span and intelligence health. Plus, it’s easier to constabulary telephone usage erstwhile they’re not allowed — period.

“Before this argumentation came out, you cognize it really was a grey area. A student has a telephone retired underneath nan desk, coach sees it, coach calls a student retired connected it, but that student said, ‘I’m not connected my device. I conscionable person it out,’” Wilson said. “Then you’re benignant of getting into a back-and-forth, who’s right, who’s wrong, parents benignant of get into it. But having this argumentation successful spot takes that conflict away”

Wilson said he noticed nan request for a telephone prohibition aft nan COVID-19 pandemic. Students returned to in-person learning ensconced successful their phones — excessively distracted to salary attraction successful class. He said immoderate students were utilizing their phones to scheme meetups to vape successful nan bathroom, put fights astatine schoolhouse aliases bully each different online passim nan day, oftentimes during class.

Wendler’s telephone prohibition went into spot past fall

Across municipality astatine South High School, main Luke Almon besides implemented caller cellphone rules past autumn — aft consulting pinch parents. He said freshmen showed important world maturation successful nan first twelvemonth without phones, but nan quality successful behaviour was moreover much noticeable. 

“The ‘23-‘24 schoolhouse year, astatine slightest from our acquisition of it, was a calmer schoolhouse year, much peaceful, much fluent communication, little harassment, little outer suspensions, ” Almon said. “All of our metrics connected our ambiance study went up measurably betwixt past twelvemonth and this year.” 

He said different factors could person helped too, but nan caller cellphone argumentation was nan clearest quality betwixt nan 2 schoolhouse years. There is immoderate nuance betwixt nan policies astatine different schools. At Wendler, students look disciplinary action if they’re caught utilizing cellphones astatine immoderate clip during schoolhouse hours. At South, nan argumentation stops astatine nan schoolroom door, allowing students to usage phones during their open-campus luncheon and passing periods. 

Private Catholic precocious schoolhouse Lumen Christi successful Anchorage was nan state’s first to prohibition cellphones successful 2019. A fewer schools successful nan Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District are using magnetic pouches to support cellphones distant from students. Meanwhile, Fairbanks North Star Borough School District unit are preparing an update to their territory cellphone policy, which was past revised successful 2011.

Anchorage School Board personnel Kelly Lessens said she is moving connected an update to nan district’s policy, which hasn’t been revised since 2012.  Lessens said she hopes to walk an update successful clip for adjacent schoolhouse year, but wants to perceive from organization members first. 

“We person a argumentation that is, you know, from a technological standpoint, it’s a procreation retired of date,” Lessens said. “Our organization wants to spot students who read, who tin do math, who postgraduate connected time, and I deliberation that nan committee has a work to optimize our learning environment.”

Courtney Luff is nan vice president of South’s Parent Teacher Student Organization. She has copy seniors astatine South, and said that aft nan pandemic her kids were attached to their devices. She’s happy they’ll person to put them distant successful class

“This is going to person a awesome effect connected kids, because they are truthful glued to their cellphones, and parents are glued to their cellphones, and we want instant entree each time agelong to each different that, for me, I was like, nope, this is great,” Luff said. “My kids don’t request a cellphone, and I don’t request entree to my kids 24/7.”

Luff’s girl Lexi said sometimes she’s really much distracted successful people without euphony to drown different students out, but feels that nan cellphone prohibition has a affirmative effect overall. 

“It’s uncomfortable for america to do this correct now because, obviously, it’s caller for us, but I deliberation successful nan agelong tally it’ll beryllium beneficial,” she said. “It’s bully that we’re getting successful that uncomfortable shape and getting utilized to it because these are skills you request to study for later successful life.”

Lexi Luff said she’s now being reminded to extremity talking during class, erstwhile teachers utilized to inquire her to put her telephone away. In nan first week backmost astatine school, she said her mean surface clip decreased by astir 5 hours each day.