Administrators say visible cell phone use in Lawrence’s high school classrooms has gone down since the district’s new policy took effect, but elementary teachers want help to improve screen-free engagement with younger students.
The board voted to approve the policy in December and implementation began in January. It says all cell phones and other personal electronic devices “must be turned off and stored out of sight” during instructional time.
Jayci Roberson and Waymond Ervin, directors of elementary and secondary schools, respectively, shared with the board Monday how schools are adjusting.
Ervin said he and high school administrators did walkthroughs to collect data before and after the policy took effect. They counted in December and then again in February how many cell phones students had out in 23 classes at Lawrence High School and 17 classes at Free State High School.
The number of students in the study decreased from the first data collection to the second, but results show 175 cell phones out among the LHS cohort in December to 13 in February, and 87 cell phones out among the FSHS cohort in December to four in February. That’s a decrease to 3% from 39% of students having their phones out at LHS, and to 2% from 25% at FSHS.
High school teachers who responded to a survey said that there have been fewer power struggles around students putting their phones away and that the policy is effective because of consistent enforcement, Ervin said.
Cell phones are permitted in some high school classes that require them, such as journalism, but are otherwise banned during instructional time. However, high school students are allowed to access their personal devices during passing periods and lunchtime.
Middle school principals could use their discretion to allow cell phone access during lunchtime, according to policy guidance, but Ervin said they ultimately decided against that. They instead give students phone time on “Fun Fridays,” depending on their behavior.
Some middle school principals have tried having students use conversational cards to engage with one another during lunch. Ervin said the purpose is to have dialogue and read facial and body expressions.
The policy disallows cell phone use without permission at elementary schools, but Roberson said students struggle with attentiveness. Teachers are requesting support with engagement strategies, Roberson said.
Board President Kelly Jones said low engagement tends to fall at times when children are tired or hungry or when it’s the end of the day. She asked Roberson about resources that might be necessary to account for those behavioral challenges.
Roberson agreed and said more opportunities for environment changes and movement could be possible through specials classes and recess. Encouraging board games and math manipulatives during indoor recess or free time could be another remedy, she said.
Superintendent Jeanice Swift said slowly implementing cell phone-free instruction is meant to help students change their behavior long term.
“We want to raise a generation of young people who know how to engage with each other and understand the discipline — the self discipline, the classroom discipline — of putting the cell phone away,” Swift said.
Roberson said a guidance document for elementary staff is in the works.
See the cell phone policy update attached to the meeting agenda item on BoardDocs.
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Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
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