(09/06/2023) The digital well-being of our students is critical to their success in high school. All of our high schools thrive on creating a healthier, more effective and engaging learning environment in our classrooms by limiting the use of cell phones. The impact of cell phones on student’s developing brains and their educational success is well researched; the negatives of using cell phones in the classroom far outweighs the positives. Each of our schools have developed a cell phone policy that is in alignment to our District handbook pg. 45. All our high schools expect that students will turn their cell phones off or put them in airplane mode during class time and store them in their backpack unless the teacher has given permission. Removing cell phone use from the classroom will increase student engagement and learning, and limit the negative impacts of social media.

During passing time and at lunch students are welcome to use their phones. If a student needs to access Google Classroom, check their grades or email, they can use their Chromebook to do so. If a parent/guardian has an emergency and needs to contact a student right away, they can email the student at their school email account or call the main office and a message will be sent right away to the classroom to have the student step out and call home.

All of our high schools will be reviewing cell phone expectations with students in class the first week of school and we greatly appreciate your support.

Helpful Resources:

• Get Phones Out of Schools Now
• The Effect of Smartphone Use on Mental Effort, Learning, and Creativity
• Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of One's Own Smartphone Reduces Available Cognitive Capacity
• Surgeon General Advisory