Schools in Mercer County are jumping on the bandwagon to restrict cellphone usage among middle and high school students.
A bill was passed in July by the Pennsylvania legislature to fund lock bags for cellphones in schools, according to the Associated Press. The bill offered grants to schools that use the lock bags to encourage cell phone bans, but it is voluntary.
Grove City
Grove City Area School District was the most recent school to join the trend of cell phone bans on Aug. 26, particularly in their middle school. Although it doesn’t use lock bags, they do follow the caddy method, where students place their phones in a pouch in classrooms.
High school Principal Dr. Brendan Smith, who also is chairman of the school’s Cell Phone Procedures Committee, said the district put these rules in place to provide a more focused and attentive learning environment.
“The students have done a great job following the procedures,” he said. “We have had just a few policy violations but they have been minimal and have been addressed on the spot. We have received positive feedback from our parents.”
He said prior to putting the procedures in place, students used cellphones during class time on a regular basis.
In the high school, students are asked to leave their phones at home or in their lockers, but are allowed to access them during lunch break.
Exceptions include medical emergencies and educational use.
Mercer
While the legislation for lock bags was signed into law just this summer, Mercer Area School District was a step ahead, banning cell phones in the middle school two years ago. Mercer High School students are permitted to use their phones during lunch break, Mercer Superintendent Dr. Ronald Rowe said.
Rowe said the students received Chromebooks in place of cell phones for in-class use. Middle school teachers take students’ phones at the beginning of the day and return them in the afternoon.
He said not allowing phones in the middle school and using Chromebooks has reduced distractions.
Lakeview
Lakeview School District also uses Chromebooks. Lakeview students in kindergarten through ninth grade aren’t allowed cell phones during school, a policy that began in the elementary and middle schools three years ago.
High school students are permitted phones for instructional purposes and during lunch break, Lakeview Superintendent Dr. Keith Wolfe said. They can also go to the front office and make calls for emergencies.
Slippery Rock
While some schools have been putting new restrictions in place for cell phone use the past couple years, Slippery Rock Area School District has had policies banning cellphones in the middle school in place for several years. Superintendent Dr. Alfonso Angelucci said high school students can use their phones between class times and during lunch break or for educational purposes.
He said the school makes exceptions for emergencies.
Although Grove City, Mercer and Lakeview have seen a decrease in cell phone use since the rules were put in place, Angelucci said some Slippery Rock students still break the rules.
Hermitage
In Hermitage School District, students in grades four through seven hand in their cellphones to the teachers for the day.
High school students are allowed to use their cell phones only during class changes, lunches and study halls, Hermitage school Superintendent Dr. Dan Bell said.
While cell phones have been around for about 20 years, Bell said the district’s cell phone policy was implemented about five years ago.
“Initially, cell phones weren’t very disruptive, but as social media grew, the disruptions in class grew,” Bell said.
The Hermitage School District maintains a one-to-one technology program, where students in kindergarten and first grade each have an iPad, while students in second grade and above have Chromebooks.
This technology initiative means that any activities, assignments or projects can be handled using devices provided by the school district without the students needing to resort to their phones, Bell said.
When students use their phones during class, discipline can progress from the teacher confiscating the phone and giving a warning, to detention and eventually suspension.
However, Bell said the phones themselves do not usually cause disruptions during class — instead, it tends to be the disagreements or arguments that start through the use of phones.
“What we tend to see are communications on social media that cause conflict between students, and then the students bring that conflict to the school or the classroom,” Bell said.
