Monongalia County Schools welcomed back students on Tuesday — but not their smartphones.
Phone-related distractions have been an increasing, and seemingly insurmountable, obstacle for educators and school systems across the nation. But this year, Mon County Schools is trying a new way to keep kids off their phones during the school day. Compared to methods we know have been tried in the past, this one seems like it will strike the right balance between limiting distractions and protecting students’ property.
Starting this year, middle and high school students will put their phones in a YONDR pouch that magnetically seals. (From our understanding, the magnetic lock is akin to the magnetic security tags we sometimes see in stores.) They’ll put their phones inside at the start of the day and, at the end of the day, tap the case against a special base to unlock the pouch. (Elementary students will turn off their phones and store them in their classrooms.)
We appreciate that this new tactic allows students to keep their phones with them but limits — without completely eliminating — access to it during the school day. Asking kids to turn off their phones and keep them in their backpacks obviously hasn’t worked — not well enough, at least. But forcing all kids in a class to put their phones in a separate place that others could access — like on a cart or in a communal cabinet — leaves too many opportunities for theft, damage or general mischief (like taking pictures with another student’s phone). Letting them keep their phones with them throughout the day gives kids — and parents — peace of mind that their property is safe.
We also appreciate that there are Velcro pouches for students who require access to their phones for medical reasons. (For example, many people with diabetes can track and monitor their blood sugar from their phones.) The Velcro ensures these kids have easy access to their devices as needed. And for everyone else, if there is an urgent need to check their phones, they can ask the teacher’s permission to temporarily unlock their pouch. (That said, Mon County Schools would prefer parents call the school’s administrative office if they need to speak with their children.)
We’re curious, though, to see how the end-of-day unlocking works out. We’re slightly concerned that 20-plus kids having to tap their pouches to a single base after the final bell rings will create a bottleneck and possibly make kids late for their buses. However, since the YONDR pouch got a test run last year at Suncrest and South middle schools, we hope there’s already a procedure in place to prevent any missed rides.
Speaking of the pilot program, it seems to have been successful — enough that Mon County Schools opted to use the YONDR pouches in all middle and high schools this year. That gives us hope this new method will quell the scourge of phone-related distractions and let both students and teachers put their focus where it should be: on education.
