Aug. 20—QUINCY — Under a new policy that goes into effect Nov. 12, cell phone use by students in the Quincy School District will be restricted during the school day.
“We would start right after the parent meetings,” said Scott Ramsey, principal of Quincy Middle School, during a presentation at the Quincy School Board meeting on August 13.
Quincy Superintendent Nik Bergman said different restrictions will be implemented at different grade levels.
“In preschool and fifth grade, the phone has to be in the backpack,” Bergman said. “We’re seeing more and more students in school – elementary and even third grade – with a cell phone than we used to.”
Quincy High School students can access their phones, but only during certain times during the school day.
“The biggest change at the high school is that cell phones will no longer be allowed in the classroom as a teaching tool,” Bergman said. “They will be allowed to be used during lunch and recess, and that’s it.”
Quincy Middle School students are required to keep their phone in a school-issued bag with an electronic lock. Middle School students are required to turn off the phone when they come to school each day, put it in their bag, and keep it in a locker or backpack until classes end for the day.
“There are stations set up at the school at the end of the day where they can demagnetize the bag,” Bergman said. “If they need to talk to their parents, there is a place in the office where they can demagnetize (the lock).”
Ramsey said cell phones have presented challenges in Quincy as well as other counties.
“Many school districts are implementing a phone-free environment in their schools, especially in the middle schools,” Ramsey said. “They are doing this because of the various issues and concerns they are facing, particularly the learning issues in the middle schools. We are also dealing with similar issues and problems in our building.”
Ramsey said cell phones are a distraction in the classroom; students want to look at them when they get a new notification, even when they should be listening to the teacher. Social media has also contributed to bullying, Bergman said in a previous interview.
“I would say the vast majority of our bullying incidents start on social media. And that generally happens outside of school hours and then finds its way into schools,” Bergman said.
Phones have also changed the dynamics of bullying, he said.
“Before the introduction of cell phones, students could go home and escape the virus. Now, for some of our students, there is no escape or it happens outside the school walls,” Bergman added.
QMS deputy headteacher Greg Martinez said his research had shown that social media use was contributing to increased mental health problems among young people.
Students who violate the rules will have their cell phones confiscated. Parents will be contacted for repeated violations. Arrangements will be made for students who need access to their cell phones, for example due to a chronic illness.
“We will have several opportunities to talk to parents,” Ramsey said, starting with open houses in each building at the beginning of the school year.
