SMITHFIELD – Students are addicted to cell phones, says Smithfield School Committee member Benjamin Caisse, who is strongly urging the district to move forward with a solidified cell phone policy for students.
During last week’s meeting, the School Committee heard Supt. Dawn Bartz’s initial plan and reasoning behind strengthening the cell phone policy in all grade levels and schools.
Bartz explained that social media and cell phone usage in youth has skyrocketed across the country over the past 10 years, particularly post-pandemic.
Caisse said as a school teacher, he lives with the complications of cell phone use every day, and he’s witnessed several versions of cell phone policies over 10 years. He said going through the process made all the difference.
“What I can tell you is my classroom is night and day from last year,” he said, adding that cell phones are still there, but are more manageable now.
Caisse said he strongly encourages Bartz to incorporate the staff and teachers, because they are the ones who are going to enforce it. He recommended that the district expedite making new policies so they can start fresh at the beginning of the next school year.
As a professional teacher, Caisse said cell phones are the worst thing to happen to education.
“Anything to do with technology can be done with Chromebooks,” Bartz said.
Some research shows a correlation between social media use and increased anxiety, depression, drug use and other mental health issues, Bartz stated.
On the whole, parents feel cell phones are necessary for students to have in school in an emergency, particularly at the upper secondary level, she added.
“Most parents and guardians feel that it is necessary that if there were an emergency for children to be able to pull out their cell phone and call home and the parents come and arrive. It’s very engrained in our society,” she said.
Bartz described problematic cell phone use at each level. In all schools, cell phone use is not allowed in classrooms. She said phones out or being used during class time is not allowed.
“They can’t come out. They can’t be used at all,” she said.
She said it is important to find a combination of education, information, and changing policies while enforcing existing policies that make sense to students, parents, teachers and administration.
At the elementary level, there were three incidences of cell phone use in class, three occasions of bullying through social media, two students that made written threats through songs online, and two students singing a threat to another student using music on TikTok.
In middle school, cell phone use and bullying are more prevalent. There were 31 incidents of people using phones without permission, five incidents of bullying due to posts on social media, TikTok, or Snapchat, three incidents of students video recording fights or confrontations, and two reported incidents of students recording videos on media sites.
At the high school, there were 34 reported incidents of students using phones in the classroom and listening to music or texting, two incidents of students reporting late to class due to texting or talking on the phone and six incidents of using a phone during an assessment.
High school students were also reported 10 times for taking videos or photos in class without permission, for three incidents of students taking videos of altercations, and one incident of phone theft. Unfortunately, Bartz said, the school is responsible for phones that disappear.
To move forward with plans, Bartz said the district is working to collaborate with teachers and administrators to look toward expanding the policy. She said the district should flesh out the social media and cell phone use more than it is currently outlined.
Currently, consequences of using cell phones in school can include taking phones away, parents being contacted, and possibly more significant consequences for larger incidents.
Bartz said the district may also look at restricting cell phone policy more at the middle school level.
Officials are looking at two options for social media restriction. The district has a security system that blocks certain websites on Chromebooks, and also alerts when certain words or phrases are used, such as names of weapons, or statements concerning causing harm to themselves or others.
Teachers can also use the system to see each Chromebook screen in the classroom and can shut screens down. Bartz said it can help teachers identify students who may not be following the lesson and take the disruptive page off the internet.
Bartz said the district may also consider cell phone pouches used in other schools or concert venues. Students would put the phone in a pouch with a locking mechanism as soon as they enter school, and the pouch is unlocked at the end of the day. Students could use the phones in emergencies, she said, but there would be a cost associated with purchasing pouches.
At the upper secondary levels, Bartz said one option could be having designated areas or times for cell phone use during the school day.
Lastly, Bartz said the district needs to increase education on social media and cell phone use through programs like viewing the film “Screenagers,” or having guest speakers.
To make a new policy, Bartz said the district will survey stakeholders, and obtain pricing methods that might help them restrict cell phone use during instructional time.
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