POUGHKEEPSIE – Last school year, Poughkeepsie High School began using Yondr bags to isolate students’ cell phones during the day – and with great success. Starting in September, Poughkeepsie Middle School students will no longer carry their cell phones during the day.
“With students’ cell phones locked away during the day, their attendance and engagement improved after the program was implemented in April – both in the classroom and in the social setting in the school hallways,” said District School Superintendent Dr. Eric Rosser in his recent newsletter.
“The success rate at the high school is outstanding,” said Assistant Superintendent for Secondary Education Dr. Charles Gallo. “That is what we want to achieve at the middle school as well.”
Each morning, students must place their phones in a Yondr bag, a padded bag that closes with a magnetic lock. The bags can only be opened when they leave the house at the end of the day or in an emergency with the help of an assistant principal. Unlike the high school program, where students are given their own bags and must take them with them every day, middle school students are
receive their bags at the beginning of each day and return them when they leave the building.
The school district has adopted a policy prohibiting cell phone use in the classroom, but teachers still report cases where students’ attention is drawn to their phones and away from class or face-to-face conversations with classmates. The bags allow schools to prevent cell phone use without taking the device away from students.
“Teachers can tell kids — and we’ve tried to do this — ‘OK, you know the rule, turn it off and put it away.’ That doesn’t happen,” Gallo said. “Kids are still texting across the room. It’s distracting. It also disrupts the learning process and sometimes leads to disciplinary action when cell phone use is inappropriate.” He noted that students are allowed to put their phone on silent in their bags so parents can still check their location and send them messages. If parents need to reach their child immediately, they can contact the main office. Parents will be contacted if their child tries to use their phone and is not using the bag in the building.
“The goal is to create a more engaging and interactive classroom/school environment where students can fully participate in their education,” the school’s administration team said in a letter to families. “We are confident that this change will have a positive impact on the overall learning experience,” Gallo explained.
According to Governor Kathy Hochul, there are efforts in the state legislature to ban cell phones in schools.
