Shutting down the noise: School districts adjust to new rules on phone use

While many school districts have had smartphone policies in place for years, evidence shows they are more than an academic distraction and are affecting students’ mental, emotional and social health, which is changing how people are responding.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued an executive order Oct. 31 requiring all school districts in the state to create and enforce a policy regarding the use of personal electronic devices in schools, which was called the Phone-Free Learning Act. The act was based on research showing that cellphones and social media can be harmful to students’ emotional well-being and academic success, according to an email sent to Lewiston High School parents Monday.

Many school districts like Lewiston, Moscow, Mountain View, Highland Joint and Lapwai already had a policy in place before Little’s order. The districts only had to amend the policy to fit the criteria of the order, like move the policy from the student handbook to board policy.

Moscow School District Superintendent Shawn Tiegs said their policy will be fully implemented after students return from spring break, and other districts have already put it in place.

Many of the school districts’ policies are similar for personal electronic devices, which can include phones, earbuds, headphones, and personal tablets and computers. Elementary schools are the most restrictive by limiting phone use during the school day. At the middle school level, some districts still limit phone use during the day and others allow it only during lunch. High schools in the different school districts allow for the most use, with many letting students use phones during lunch and passing periods between classes. More information on specific district policies can be found on their respective websites.

Highland Joint School District Superintendent Tana Kellogg said that as soon as the bell rings at the end of the day, students are back to using their phones.

“Obviously we don’t have the same kind of issues a larger school would have but our kids are kids — if we don’t have a phone policy they would be on their phones all the time during class,” Kellogg said.

Lapwai School District Superintendent David Aiken said in addition to having a policy on phone use the district also has other tools related to digital technology to help students learn how to responsibly, respectfully and safely use technology. All students are required to take the Idaho Digital Learning Alliance course on digital citizenship. Middle schoolers also use a curriculum course called Ignition: Digital Wellness and Safety, which helps teach students how to use technology responsibly. SchoolPulse is used for student mental health and well-being, including phone habits. Another curriculum is 3rd Millennium Classroom, which is a prevention resource for students who need to learn how to better handle technology, including conflict resolution to help with disrespectful social media behavior.

“We need minds on learning,” Aiken said about having phones in the classroom. “Plus, in the age of social media it can also be preventative for bullying and harassment, that’s the other concern too.”

At Lewiston High School, teachers have taken their own approach to personal electronic devices in their classrooms by having designated spaces to place phones. Annette Province teaches social studies, economics and U.S. history at Lewiston High School. It’s her third year at the high school, but she’s been an educator for 24 years. When Province first started teaching there were fewer interruptions in the classroom, except for the occasional passing of notes. Now nearly every student has a phone or some other electronic device.

Scout Larson teaches AP history and is the Associate Student Body adviser at Lewiston High School. Before this year, Larson had been “moderately monitoring” phone use. Because she was teaching a college-level course, she wanted to treat her students like adults and have them regulate their phone usage themselves.

This summer she went to a conference and a college professor pointed out that when Larson was in college she didn’t have a phone that connected to the internet like her students do. Larson graduated from high school in 2011 and had a Motorola Razr flip phone. While technology has evolved since her time in high school, Larson realized her perspective on phones in the classroom hadn’t.

“My population of students — they don’t know any different. They don’t remember a time that was less distracting and less consuming,” Larson said.

Educators aren’t the only ones changing their minds on phones in the classroom. Mountain View School District Superintendent Alica Holthaus said the response from parents has shifted as well. A few years ago parents wanted their children to have their phones on them at all times.

“But now parents are seeing that this is a device being given to students who haven’t always had the ability to make the right choice,” Holthaus said, which can be helped by having a policy to guide their phone use.

“Our obligation is to create an environment where students are able to access curriculum and learn free of distraction,” Lewiston School District Superintendent Lance Hansen said. “At times that distraction can come from themselves, not others.”

Those distractions were becoming frustrating for Larson.

“We were never getting a lot of deep work or deep thinking done,” Larson said. “It was just constant noise all the time.”

Implementing the policy

Many school districts use a policy to make sure expectations are clear and consistent throughout the district. In Lewiston, having a policy makes it easier for teachers to enforce.

“I think before, some (teachers) wondered ‘how far can we push this?’ ” Larson said. “By adopting a more universal policy it will embolden some teachers to do something about it.”

Province said the response from teachers has been positive. Some students have even recognized that they work and learn better.

“I think what I want most is for people to realize this is not disciplinary,” Province said. “It’s meant to be a proactive approach to teach students responsible use of electronic devices.”

At the Lewiston School District, a workgroup made up of community members, students, parents and teachers was formed to help improve the policy; they will continue to evaluate the policy and make recommendations to the school board. Lewiston School District Director of Student Services Kim Eimers said coming up with solutions with the workgroup did get personal at times.

“Change is hard, change is personal, so we just have to help understand the ‘why’ behind it,” Eimers said. “We have children and adults so tied to that device it’s almost a part of their body. When it’s not with them they feel like something is missing. It’s as much a help for adults as it is for kids.”

Districts like Lewiston that follow Little’s order can receive a $5,000 grant. The funds from the grant will go toward implementing the policy, like having more spaces for students to safely place their phones in the classroom.

Effects on students

The policies the school districts have created are focused on more than eliminating distractions in the classroom. The educators in the districts want students to thrive academically, socially and emotionally. According to research and a book called “The Anxious Generation” by Jonathan Haidt, phones and social media can prevent that development.

Hansen assigned “The Anxious Generation” for Lewiston’s principals, leadership team and board members to read over the summer. He wanted them to learn about how students today interact with the digital world and what teachers can do to help them develop. The book gives suggestions for schools, parents and the community on how to deal with the digital world.

“The point is for the school to become partners in that journey,” Hansen said.

In her years as an educator, Province has seen a decline in the attention span of students and completing assignments on time because of the increased use of cellphones and other electronic devices.

“The constant bombardment these kids have from all things electronic — how are we supposed to manage that?” Province said.

Eimers said students are constantly checking their phones for social media apps, where a lot of bullying can take place because people can “say basically whatever they want.” It’s also available 24/7, which makes it hard to avoid. Research shows a link between phones and social media to anxiety, depression and cyberbullying as well as stunting emotional growth and an increase in suicide rates in young adults.

Kellogg has seen how students can even get anxiety, stress and feeling left out if other students are getting alerts on their phones, but theirs remains silent. If students aren’t using their phones during the day they don’t have to worry about it.

“We just want them to be able to recognize that they don’t have to have that phone all the time,” Kellogg said.

For Tiegs, the question is how technology can help or distract from learning. It’s a particular challenge when the device is built for keeping people’s attention.

“Whether a good or bad intention, their (our phone’s) intention is to get our attention,” Tiegs said.

That includes social media, apps and internet use, which are designed to get people to look and keep looking to make money. That creates the potential for people to become addicted.

On the other side of that, technology can be a powerful tool for students to learn too.

“It is ultimately a balance of the powerful positives and the potential harms and negatives that they bring and trying to strike that right balance as we deal with kids,” Tiegs said.

In the classroom

While educators and lawmakers can talk about phone use in schools, it takes someone in the classroom to put it into action. Both Province and Larson use a numbering system that correlates with individual students and have a rack or caddy in their classroom, originally used for calculators. At the beginning of class students place their devices in the corresponding number and at the end of the class they take it when they leave.

Province has been using a rack for phones for years now after deciding to take a proactive approach to the problem. Larson started the method after she saw English teacher Jamie Bakker using it. She went over the new expectation on the first day of school with her students.

“I was kinda surprised how quickly they all went with it and how it quickly became a part of the routine with basically zero push back,” Larson said.

It’s having a ripple effect in her hallway and at the school as other teachers are using it. For teachers who are using the phone rack method or other ways to keep students off their devices in class, Province said it’s been life-changing for them.

Province and Larson see their role as educators going beyond teaching students their particular subjects, but also giving students the tools to be able to separate themselves from their technology and devices and use it responsibly.

Province also implements other methods in her classroom to get students off digital devices. While students use Chromebook laptops for learning and reading, sometimes she’ll have them close their computers to give them a break from the screen and have a class discussion. Or she’ll have them move around the classroom for another break from screens and sitting and let students interact with each other face-to-face.

Larson has also seen it improve her students’ learning. Not only with the level of focus on academic work, but also the ability for students to engage with each other. It forces students to engage with their classmates, including those they wouldn’t normally talk to.

Kellogg said that can help students see they have more friends than what exists on their phones. It can also help students learn better communication, a skill that isn’t learned through a phone.

“We want them to be well-rounded people and communicate with one another with face-to-face conversation,” Kellogg said.

At school when students don’t have a choice but go without their phones, it can provide relief from the noise.

“I think they are longing for a break from it all too,” Larson said. “I don’t think they always have the tools or will to do it for themselves.”

Brewster may be contacted at kbrewster@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2297.