Cameras and reporting crews from ABC’s Good Morning America were at Clarke Central High School this week.
The visit was part of a three-part series on the national morning news program about cell phone policies and cell phone distraction in the classroom.
The segments will air sometime in September.
The news agency reached out to the Clarke County School District after it recently tightened a cell phone policy it implemented last year, according to Cyndee Perdue Moore, the district’s executive director of public relations and communications.
School district Superintendent Robbie Hooker took a hard line because cell phones had become a distraction, she said.
“I guess they got wind of it and came by and talked to five students, three teachers and the principal to get their thoughts on the policy and on cell phones in general,” she said.
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They were able to survey students on their opinions about the wisdom of putting cell phones away in the classroom and ask teachers how they enforce the rule, Moore said.
In middle schools, students are expected to keep their phones in a locker, she said.
In secondary schools, teachers have more flexibility and can require students to keep their phones in a pocket or school bag.
“As long as they’re gone and the teacher has a standard for how to handle it, it’s acceptable,” she said.
