KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Consistency is the lesson Shawnee Mission School District teachers and principals learned was key when they created and implemented a personal electronics policy earlier this year.
Now a new school year later, principals checked in with the school board and said they could see and hear the difference.
“One of my favorite things is if you come to Indian Hills or any middle school, come at lunch. You will see 300 kids, three rotations, eat, but talk to each other. They bring Uno cards to lunch. It is so fun to hear their voices rather than them staring at their phones,” Dr. Kelley Capper, Principal Indian Hills Middle School, said.
Capper and Dr. Lisa Gruman, Principal Shawnee Mission Northwest High School, were heavily involved in the creation of the policy.
They say it was a lot of work with a lot of discussion. In the end, the principals believe the policies are making education in the school district stronger and better for students.
“We’re teaching kids a time and a place and that’s an important skill that they need,” Capper said.
One of the biggest hurdles the principals told the Shawnee Mission School Board was creating a policy that was appropriate for students across the district.
“We wanted an age-appropriate use kind of a graduated or continuum of response from the school district. So very strict with elementary up into you know the high school maybe not as strict,” Dr. Michael Schumacher, superintendent, said.
The following are guidelines eventually implemented in schools in the district.
Elementary Schools Policy
- Personal electronics stored in backpacks from time student enters building until student leaves building
- Smart watches in school mode for duration of the day
Middle Schools Policy
- Personal Electronics stored in lockers or designated area during school day
- Headphones only used with district-issued devices and teacher permission
- Students allowed access during passing period
High Schools Policy
- Personal electronic devices will be put away during instructional time
- Students can access devices during passing time
- Students can wear watches during the day on school mode
- Exceptions granted to students with accommodations and IEP/504 plans
The key factor for high school students is realizing how close they are to being responsible for themselves and entering the workforce.
“A lot of this was focusing on that college and career aspect. Knowing that when we enter into our workforce and our job there is a time and a place that we can reference our cell phones but it is not something that we have unlimited access to typically,” Gruman said.
She said that following months of interactions between teachers and students there is understanding.
“As much as we love to think we can multitask and pay attention to both things at the same time, there was a lot of education by our teachers and just conversations with kids. If you ask them they will admit, as much as we really believe we can, we kinda notice now that we were splitting our attention between the two things,” Gruman said.
She also said that flexibility is key when it comes to making the policy work. There are some cases where the policy needs to be tailored to an individual student.
Overall the teachers and school board say they consider the policies successes.
Key members involved in developing the policy said they meet twice a month to discuss the policies and address any concerns and issues that arise.
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