Students caught with their phones will have the device confiscated until the end of the school day, and school officials may request a parent conference subsequent to the offense. Teachers that may want to have students utilize their phone during class have the discretion to permit cell phone use with one or two days notice.
Whether it’s tracking the weather, staying in touch with friends on social media, or playing games via a variety of applications, many people have become glued to their cell phones over the last decade or so as technology becomes a staple of the modern lifestyle. But at Cohasset Middle School, students are no longer permitted to use their cell phones at any point during the school day.
Under the new “away for the day” phone policy, which went into effect at the beginning of the district’s 2018-19 school year last Tuesday (Sept. 4), phones may not be seen by teachers or administrators during school hours, according to Middle-High School Principal Carolyn Connolly. Phones must be left at home or must be turned off either in their locker or on their person.
Students caught with their phones will have the device confiscated until the end of the school day, and school officials may request a parent conference subsequent to the offense. Teachers that may want to have students utilize their phone during class have the discretion to permit cell phone use with one or two days notice.
The “away for the day” concept is credited to the same group that produced the film “Screen-agers” about growing up in the digital age, who feel the constant use of devices can have an effect on developing youth. The group hopes to “help transform middle schools into cell phone-free spaces.”
Superintendent Louise Demas has been openly supportive of the policy, “because students need to focus without outside distractions when engaged in learning and when at lunch, break, or in between classes.
“I think such a procedure or policy will help children see the value of conversation and face-to-face engagement and find new relationships and skills in conducting, as well as hopefully initiating, conversations with peers,” Demas said in an email to the Mariner.
Jennifer Sayer of the Cohasset Education Foundation is also a supporter of the policy. In a phone interview with the Mariner, Sayer said she is pleased to see an official policy on the books at the middle school.
“I was surprised that there wasn’t really a clear policy on it before now,” she added. “I think it’s always a good thing to set boundaries on behavior for children.”
Not only is it important to help maintain focus during class, Sayer said, but the policy may have the biggest impact on how students conduct themselves during unstructured time throughout the school day.
Teachers have been big supporters of the initiative, as well. When administrators shared their intentions of implementing the policy for the 2018-19 school year, Connolly said, “They broke into applause.”
Concerns about working parents needing a way to contact their kids or students needing to arrange rides were initially discussed as one of the biggest potential roadblocks the new policy could face. But as Sayer pointed out, there are still ways to communicate an important message with your child during the school day.
As a parent of two middle school-age children herself, Sayer said she understands the struggle and has experienced it first-hand. But Sayer reminded families that there are solutions to the problem such as planning the night before or calling the office in case of anything last-minute.
But many parents, who started the push for the policy to begin with, are said to be thrilled by the change in policy, Connolly said. Additionally, Connolly said there has been little push-back from students regarding the new policy, as well.
Seventh and eighth graders that experienced the more lenient cell phone policy in the past did not appear to take issue with the policy change, Connolly said. Connolly noted that only one student has had an issue with their cell phone since the policy was implemented last week, which she sees as a big accomplishment.
“When we make our expectations clear to students, 99.99 percent of the time they go along with what we are asking of them,” Connolly said. “They’re typically good citizens that do what they are supposed to when you make your expectations clear.”
Ultimately, school officials believe the policy will continue to run smoothly as students adjust to the new rules.
The Safe Harbor Cohasset Coalition will be hosting a screening of “Screen-agers” on Thursday, Sept. 27 at 6:45 p.m. in the Middle-High School auditorium for anyone interested in learning more about the impact the digital age has on youth.
