One thing everyone in the Hinckley-Big Rock School District's middle and high schools has noticed is that, with cell phones banned, the lunchroom and hallways are definitely louder now.
Usually, that’s not framed as a good thing by school administrators but, in this case, it is. It means they’re talking to each other, instead of silently scrolling. Hinckley-Big Rock junior Matthew Batal feels the difference.
“Having the conversations with other friends is just great," he said, "especially from stuff like outside of school, like sports from the other night."
But louder lunchrooms aren’t the only reason they made this decision and bought magnetically sealed Yondr bags for students to lock their phones in. Superintendent Jessica Sonntag says that most of their discipline incidents stemmed from cell phone issues like social media drama and bullying. One semester in, she says that’s changed.
“We are significantly lower,” she said. “We have only had three out of school suspensions this year at the high school, and two at the middle school. Last year, it was significantly more, and students were out of class significantly more processing the drama that had occurred through Snapchat or texting or Instagram, and just super unavailable for learning or socialization.”
She says their principals have attributed that drop in office referrals directly to the phone ban. They’ve also had fewer students miss school for mental health-related concerns, but Sonntag says it’s harder to tie that totally to the phone policy.
The superintendent also hoped that, because students are less distracted in class, their new phone rules would lead to improved academic outcomes. So far, she says it’s too early to tell, but there weren’t seismic shifts.
“Academic data is still coming in from our first semester," said Sonntag. "I think that we did see an improvement at the middle school level. It's looking like we did not yet see an improvement in the high school academic data.”
There are also aspects of the change that are more difficult to measure. It’s harder to say students are “x” percent more distracted in class or whatever percent less stressed.
“I would say there's a lot less distractions," said HBR junior Savannah McMurtrie, "because you're not constantly thinking about, ‘Oh, who's texting me’ or just wanting to scroll on Instagram a ton. You're focused on your schoolwork, or when you're done with it, you can talk with your peers. And, just honestly, it's just a lot more relaxing.”
The ban actually doesn’t just cover phones, they also banned smart watches and air pods too. And McMurtrie has seen how that impacts her teachers too.
“I remember tons of kids having air pods in," said McMurtrie, "and then the teachers constantly having to repeat themselves because the students didn't hear what they said.”
She says that has not been the case this year. Alexavier Casanas is another HBR junior who says he does notice a little bit of a difference in the overall culture of the school.
“I've seen more students build friendships with one another,” he said. “And I think even one person can change someone's mood, so I could see how the students look happier.”
Now, does everyone like the rule? Absolutely not. But Casanas says most have accepted it.
“I think after like a month or so, they just took it as ‘there's nothing they can really do about it,’" he said. "I don't think their opinion or mindset has changed on it, but their social behavior, I think, is a lot better."
Does everyone follow the rule? Well, like most rules, not everyone. McMurtrie says she still sees a few people on their phone every day in the bathroom or the locker room.
At the beginning of the year, Sonntag says they had a few students plant “dummy” phones in their Yondr bag. A few students tried to destroy the bag to get at their phone. But, she said, “We've only had one detention. That happened this week, so we've made it this far into the school year with our students being that compliant with it."
She says staff are 100% in on the ban. Sonntag says she’s also heard from a few parents that their kids are coming home less emotionally drained and are finding more time to finish homework at school since they’re not scrolling.
The district is still weighing potential tweaks to the rule. High schoolers can put their phone in their locker or in their car instead of the Yondr bag, and they’re considering whether they need to tighten those rules for next year so more students aren’t sneaking their phones in the bathroom.
But, tweaks aside, Sonntag says the phone ban is going even better than she expected.
“They seem happier," she said. "They seem less anxious, they seem less stressed, they seem more present."
One semester in, loud hallways and all, they have no plans of going back.
