BLOCKED: Principals say they’ll enforce phone ban in middle/high school classrooms

With less than a week to go before the start of classes, Abington Middle and High School leaders dropped the hammer on students: smart phones are no longer allowed in the classroom.

While students can still bring their phones with them to school, they will be restricted to using them only during “non-instructional” time, including while in homeroom, walking between classes, and during lunch.

Abington High School Principal Jonathan Bourn and Middle School Principal Matthew MacCurtain made the announcement in separate emails sent to parents and guardians on Wednesday afternoon.

“We want our students to experience and appreciate the benefit of having their sustained and undivided attention to the important academic work and growth that happens in our classrooms,” the messages stated.

School officials say the cell phone ban has been part of the schools’ handbooks for years — it just hasn’t been enforced.

“I am in favor of this enforcement of an existing policy. Teaching and learning are the priority during the school day, which is best accomplished without the distraction of phones,” School Committee member Melanie Whitney told Abington News. “Students can always communicate with home, and vice versa, through the office.”

School Committee Chairman Chris Coyle said he had heard from teachers, support staff, and administrators that the ubiquitous presence of phones during class was a “top impediment to learning.”

“[T]o be clear, this is not a new policy in either building,” Coyle said. “Attention is being brought to the fact that it will be more strictly enforced across the board at both schools.”

Schools across Massachusetts are wrestling with phone crackdowns. Brockton and Methuen high schools have also rolled out phone bans for the coming year. Salem, Chicopee, and Concord-Carlisle are among those that introduced bans last year.

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is encouraging school districts to consider phone bans during classroom time, and has not ruled out implementing a statewide ban.

MacCurtain said middle school students are often “distracted by games and social media alerts at best, and at worst using cellphones and social media in a highly disruptive manner” during class time.

Bourn went further, saying persistent student use during the day can “also create substantial school-based, social and sometimes legal consequences we would like all of our students to avoid.”

When students return to the classroom next week, students will be expected to leave their phones and ear buds in a bin at the front of the room, place them in their backpacks out of sight, or keep them in their lockers. Both principals said students should also consider leaving their phones at home altogether.

“With community wide adult solidarity, we can improve the teaching and learning experience for our students, provide opportunities for important development and growth, and improve their long-term mental health with genuine social connections,” the letters state.

Parents in other communities have voiced concerns about not being able to reach their kids right away if there’s a family emergency or a problem at the school.

Whitney said parents can still call the school, or students can use a phone in the school office if they need to get in touch urgently.

Classroom bins containing phones can be brought outside if the school has to be evacuated, she said.