cawacko
Well-known member
This battle is happening all over the country and Newsom is far from the first to push for this but kudos to him for doing so. Amazing to hear how many people have read Anxious Generation and recognize the damage social media is doing to kids.
Lunchtime at four high schools in the Mount Diablo Unified School District this fall might look a little strange at first, even if it’s not immediately clear why.
At one site, teens could be playing volleyball outside, said Superintendent Adam Clark. At the others, the kids might be showing off their double Dutch jump rope skills or playing a game of giant Jenga. At all of them, he added, the students are hanging out, reading books, joking with each other.
What you don’t see are cellphones, he said.
Four high schools in the Contra Costa County district — like an exponentially growing number across the state and country — have decided to take the teens back in time, to when education was a smartphone-free experience.
“They’re talking to each other, they’re laughing, they’re getting to know one another,” Clark said. “It’s really amazing that it’s a simple thing but has such a wide impact.”
That kind of anecdotal evidence as well as a growing stack of research has turned what has been an expanding call for school cellphone bans into a deafening roar as children head back to school this fall.
Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to all state schools earlier this week urging them to restrict the use of cellphones this year, even as he works to require districts to limit or prohibit smartphone use, he said. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond echoed his demand for action.
A handful of states, including Florida, Indiana and Michigan, have already enacted similar laws.
They are supported by K-12 administrators and teachers seeking ways to alleviate social media bullying, classroom distractions and the mental health impacts associated with excessive smartphone use.
“The evidence is clear: reducing phone use in class leads to improved concentration, better academic outcomes, and enhanced social interactions,” Newsom said in the letter, adding districts have seen better concentration, behavior and academic success because of the restrictions.
In 2019, the state passed a law allowing districts to limit cellphone use at schools, despite often strong and loud pushback from parents and students concerned over the need to reach each other for logistical reasons or in emergencies, including active shooter situations.
They heard those concerns in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, which serves nearly 10,000 elementary and middle school students, when officials decided to adopt a smartphone policy in 2022, said Superintendent Diego Ochoa.
But district officials said they couldn’t ignore the rise in online student bullying and the significant decline in student-to-student interaction at its middle schools. They decided to ban cellphones.
“Our educators told us, ‘We can’t teach these students. They won’t pay attention in class,’” Ochoa said. “In about 90 days, we went from not having any policy to having a policy. We felt that in this one case, it was so urgent that we needed to take action.”
Like many districts, San Mateo-Foster City purchased special cases, made by a company called Yondr, that lock magnetically and hold each middle school student’s phone throughout the day, unlocked by a special demagnifier at the end of classes.
“Our teachers were emphatic from the beginning, (that) it is absolutely helping kids pay attention in class,” Ochoa said. “We saw a huge decrease of prevalent student depression on campus, and a decrease by over 20% of student bullying in our schools.”
Cellphone policies vary widely among California districts, with some fully banning the devices during the school day. In Los Angeles, the policy goes into effect a year from now.
In some other districts, each school sets its own phone policy.
San Francisco has a districtwide policy that requires students to have devices turned off and put away during class time and passing periods, but some schools have expanded beyond that, banning all cellphone use throughout the entire school day.
Galileo High School English teacher John Lisovsky said he would love to see students without smartphones, period, and only living in the real world. In the meantime, students in his classes put their phones in little pouches on the wall where they can’t access them in class.
“Smartphones have had a bad, negative impact on academics, wellness, sleep, and anything we can do as a system to reduce smartphone use among adolescents is going to have a positive impact,” he said.
The city’s teachers union said it is looking for consistency, which the district doesn’t have from school to school.
“Everybody’s gotta be doing the same thing,” said Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco. “It’s not a feeling of like or dislike. It’s a feeling of we’re all doing it together or we’re all in limbo.”
The National Parents Union, which primarily represents low-income families, has opposed banning phones.
“It’s 2024 — and all families rely on cell phones to stay connected and communicate now more than ever,” said the organization’s president, Keri Rodrigues, in a March statement. “Whether it’s connecting in case of an emergency, planning after-school logistics or even if a child is feeling anxious about an issue in school and needs positive reinforcement or advice — it’s clear that parents want to be able to have clear and open channels of communication with their own children.”
Back in the Mt. Diablo school district, Superintendent Clark said the smartphone bans sprang up organically, first at the two alternative high schools, Olympic, in Concord and Prospect, in Pleasant Hill, which raised the issue last year. Administrators discussed it with students and families, because they didn’t want a battle that required searching backpacks for secret phones, and then implemented the policy, using the Yondr bags.
“Teachers couldn’t believe the difference,” Clark said.
The students who were behind in their studies started earning more credits and participation in classrooms went way up, he added.
“I will tell you that both principals have talked about how this has transformed their schools,” he said.
Two other traditional high schools, Mt. Diablo and Ygnacio Valley in Concord, went through a similar process and adopted a ban for this school year, which started Aug. 8.
The school board approved the $113,000 cost for the Yondr bags. Students who lose them are on the hook for the $50 replacement cost, Clark said.
The three remaining Mt. Diablo school district high schools — Concord, College Park (Pleasant Hill) and Northgate (Walnut Creek) — are also looking to put a ban into place.
Not everyone has been happy, Clark said. They tell concerned parents they can always reach their children by calling the office or coming to the school and in any emergency, every teacher has a demagnifier to unlock the bags.
“We get it,” Clark said. “We understand that cellphones are not evil. They do serve a very valuable purpose.”
While there were some hiccups at the start of the school year in terms of getting everyone on board, the superintendent said he is a “true believer” in the ban.
And so are the students.
“They start off saying, ‘I was mad.’ Then, ‘It really is better. But don’t tell my friends I said that,’” Clark said. “They just enjoy school so much more.”
Bay Area schools grapple with cellphone bans as Newsom pushes to expand them
Lunchtime at four high schools in the Mount Diablo Unified School District this fall might look a little strange at first, even if it’s not immediately clear why.
At one site, teens could be playing volleyball outside, said Superintendent Adam Clark. At the others, the kids might be showing off their double Dutch jump rope skills or playing a game of giant Jenga. At all of them, he added, the students are hanging out, reading books, joking with each other.
What you don’t see are cellphones, he said.
Four high schools in the Contra Costa County district — like an exponentially growing number across the state and country — have decided to take the teens back in time, to when education was a smartphone-free experience.
“They’re talking to each other, they’re laughing, they’re getting to know one another,” Clark said. “It’s really amazing that it’s a simple thing but has such a wide impact.”
That kind of anecdotal evidence as well as a growing stack of research has turned what has been an expanding call for school cellphone bans into a deafening roar as children head back to school this fall.
Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to all state schools earlier this week urging them to restrict the use of cellphones this year, even as he works to require districts to limit or prohibit smartphone use, he said. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond echoed his demand for action.
A handful of states, including Florida, Indiana and Michigan, have already enacted similar laws.
They are supported by K-12 administrators and teachers seeking ways to alleviate social media bullying, classroom distractions and the mental health impacts associated with excessive smartphone use.
“The evidence is clear: reducing phone use in class leads to improved concentration, better academic outcomes, and enhanced social interactions,” Newsom said in the letter, adding districts have seen better concentration, behavior and academic success because of the restrictions.
In 2019, the state passed a law allowing districts to limit cellphone use at schools, despite often strong and loud pushback from parents and students concerned over the need to reach each other for logistical reasons or in emergencies, including active shooter situations.
They heard those concerns in the San Mateo-Foster City School District, which serves nearly 10,000 elementary and middle school students, when officials decided to adopt a smartphone policy in 2022, said Superintendent Diego Ochoa.
But district officials said they couldn’t ignore the rise in online student bullying and the significant decline in student-to-student interaction at its middle schools. They decided to ban cellphones.
“Our educators told us, ‘We can’t teach these students. They won’t pay attention in class,’” Ochoa said. “In about 90 days, we went from not having any policy to having a policy. We felt that in this one case, it was so urgent that we needed to take action.”
Like many districts, San Mateo-Foster City purchased special cases, made by a company called Yondr, that lock magnetically and hold each middle school student’s phone throughout the day, unlocked by a special demagnifier at the end of classes.
“Our teachers were emphatic from the beginning, (that) it is absolutely helping kids pay attention in class,” Ochoa said. “We saw a huge decrease of prevalent student depression on campus, and a decrease by over 20% of student bullying in our schools.”
Cellphone policies vary widely among California districts, with some fully banning the devices during the school day. In Los Angeles, the policy goes into effect a year from now.
In some other districts, each school sets its own phone policy.
San Francisco has a districtwide policy that requires students to have devices turned off and put away during class time and passing periods, but some schools have expanded beyond that, banning all cellphone use throughout the entire school day.
Galileo High School English teacher John Lisovsky said he would love to see students without smartphones, period, and only living in the real world. In the meantime, students in his classes put their phones in little pouches on the wall where they can’t access them in class.
“Smartphones have had a bad, negative impact on academics, wellness, sleep, and anything we can do as a system to reduce smartphone use among adolescents is going to have a positive impact,” he said.
The city’s teachers union said it is looking for consistency, which the district doesn’t have from school to school.
“Everybody’s gotta be doing the same thing,” said Cassondra Curiel, president of the United Educators of San Francisco. “It’s not a feeling of like or dislike. It’s a feeling of we’re all doing it together or we’re all in limbo.”
The National Parents Union, which primarily represents low-income families, has opposed banning phones.
“It’s 2024 — and all families rely on cell phones to stay connected and communicate now more than ever,” said the organization’s president, Keri Rodrigues, in a March statement. “Whether it’s connecting in case of an emergency, planning after-school logistics or even if a child is feeling anxious about an issue in school and needs positive reinforcement or advice — it’s clear that parents want to be able to have clear and open channels of communication with their own children.”
Back in the Mt. Diablo school district, Superintendent Clark said the smartphone bans sprang up organically, first at the two alternative high schools, Olympic, in Concord and Prospect, in Pleasant Hill, which raised the issue last year. Administrators discussed it with students and families, because they didn’t want a battle that required searching backpacks for secret phones, and then implemented the policy, using the Yondr bags.
“Teachers couldn’t believe the difference,” Clark said.
The students who were behind in their studies started earning more credits and participation in classrooms went way up, he added.
“I will tell you that both principals have talked about how this has transformed their schools,” he said.
Two other traditional high schools, Mt. Diablo and Ygnacio Valley in Concord, went through a similar process and adopted a ban for this school year, which started Aug. 8.
The school board approved the $113,000 cost for the Yondr bags. Students who lose them are on the hook for the $50 replacement cost, Clark said.
The three remaining Mt. Diablo school district high schools — Concord, College Park (Pleasant Hill) and Northgate (Walnut Creek) — are also looking to put a ban into place.
Not everyone has been happy, Clark said. They tell concerned parents they can always reach their children by calling the office or coming to the school and in any emergency, every teacher has a demagnifier to unlock the bags.
“We get it,” Clark said. “We understand that cellphones are not evil. They do serve a very valuable purpose.”
While there were some hiccups at the start of the school year in terms of getting everyone on board, the superintendent said he is a “true believer” in the ban.
And so are the students.
“They start off saying, ‘I was mad.’ Then, ‘It really is better. But don’t tell my friends I said that,’” Clark said. “They just enjoy school so much more.”
