LINCOLN, Nebraska (KOLN) – As the new year begins, Lincoln Public Schools is implementing some new rules regarding electronics.
Hall passes are now digital and there are new expectations regarding cell phones, a rule that is already in place at other schools in the district.
These rules were first implemented in high schools. When administrators noticed that suspensions for fighting were decreasing and fewer students were late for class, they decided to try the rules in middle schools. Irving and Goodrich were the pilots last spring, and this year all middle schools will be included.
“This has completely changed everything. Just the behavior we’re seeing in the classroom, the way students are responding, is incredible,” said Lindsey Dresden, a seventh-grade teacher at Irving Middle School.
Mobile phones are now banned at all times of the day.
Teachers have seen a direct impact on student concentration without electronic distractions.
“We saw early on a decrease in negative student behavior and an increase in student engagement. Additionally, relationships among students in the classroom and between teachers and students improved,” said Jessie Fries, superintendent of secondary education at Lincoln Public Schools.
“Definitely a lot more engagement, the kids are more focused on the lessons and what we are doing than on what is happening on their phones,” said Dresden.
Now that the policy is in effect districtwide, it may be easier for students to understand.
“This ends the power struggle that may have existed when we see a phone. Now we can just say, ‘This is what every single student in every school in the entire district does, so your phones just have to stay in your locker from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.,'” said Rachael Kluck-Spann, principal of Irving Middle School.
There is a similar rule in secondary schools: mobile phones are not allowed during lessons, but only during lunch and break times.
LPS is also introducing a digital hallway pass that will allow visitors to select the restroom they wish to visit on a computer and wait for it to be approved.
The district hopes this will avoid disruptions in class and allow teachers to better keep track of all of their students.
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