Illinois just passed a school cellphone ban this year. Now, some schools are also scaling back how much students use laptops. It’s part of a growing, parent-led movement to rethink screens in schools.
Like many parents, Julie Hill tried to be intentional about screens when her kids were small. She’s a mom of two in Wheaton. When the pandemic hit, their schools went 1:1, meaning every student was assigned a Chromebook so they could learn at home. It made sense but, over time, it became more of a distraction.
“Every time I opened up someone's Chromebook," said Hill, "the first tab was a game or a shopping site or something like that."
It was especially tough for her daughter in middle school.
“My daughter had all these missing assignments," she said. "We thought she was doing all this homework, and she wasn't."
Screentime was such a concern that Hill pulled her daughter out of public school this year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), just over 50% of teens report four or more hours of screentime per day — not including schoolwork.
At the same time, her sister Jill Nicoli, a few towns over in Elmhurst, had the same issue. She tried to opt her kids out of 1:1 devices, but were told it wasn’t possible. They’re too entwined with the curriculum and state tests.
Frustrated, she posted on Facebook and found a lot of parents felt the same.
“I," said Nicoli, "don't want my children to be guinea pigs anymore for EdTech."
Nicoli now has a WhatsApp with over 100 parents, a local ‘Schools Beyond Screens’ chapter, and a petition with over 1,000 signatures asking their district to roll back 1:1 devices.
They know it’s a big change and could take time, especially in a big district that invests millions in equipment and software, but she says their superintendent was open to listening — and they did shift policies for their youngest students.
“This year," she said, "our pre-K has given them the option to, once it's given to you, you get the device, you can then opt out and give it back to the school."
Hinckley-Big Rock is a much smaller school district. A few years ago, they were one of the first northern Illinois districts to ban cell phones. Now, superintendent Jessica Sonntag says she believes they’re the first district in the region to end their 1:1 Chromebook policy.
“It really was impacting teaching and learning," she said, "and so we have gone back to Chromebooks on carts that teachers can check out when they want to utilize technology in the classroom."
Teachers can check out Chromebooks for their class or go to their library’s computer lab. Students no longer take the Chromebooks home every day, either, but they can rent one if they need it.
Sonntag says Chromebooks had just replaced phones in a lot of ways but says this is the culmination of years of conversation about what a distraction it was. Students gaming on their laptops and chatting with friends in class. Keeping track of it was distracting for teachers too.
“We were spending money on monitoring software," said the superintendent, "so teachers would have to teach behind their desks so they could also watch their own computers, which would tell them if anybody in the classroom is on a tab that isn't relevant to their instruction."
She says there was also a big push to gamify learning.
“They love to play video games, so let's turn their math intervention into a video game," she said. "But kids weren't really holding on to any knowledge; they were just trying to beat the game.”
A Gallup poll found 61% of K-12 teachers would like to see their students using learning devices somewhat or much less.
It wasn’t all bad. If a student forgot their math worksheet, they could find it online. Sometimes it allowed for more instant feedback on assignments. But Sonntag says the pros did not outweigh the cons, and they needed a hard reset. She says they’re not anti-tech, it’s just about when and why they’re using it.
“Elementary school definitely does not need to have a Chromebook or access to technology to learn," she said. "Middle school, it's a nice tool. As we transition into high school, it is still a nice tool, but we probably will be utilizing it more frequently than any of the other grades.”
It’s been a major change this school year. Almost no homework is online. The district bought significantly more physical math and science textbooks. Teachers are printing out worksheets. Students are taking notes and writing essays by hand.
“We've only had a few teachers throughout the course of the past month," she said, "even check out a cart [of Chromebooks].”
She says student feedback has been mostly positive. No spellcheck is frustrating and there have been a few sore hands from writing, but they say students seem to understand why this is necessary.
Middle School principal Kim Torman says the teacher feedback has been overwhelmingly positive too.
“92.9% [of teachers]," Torman shared, "said they have seen improved student engagement since the shift to intentional use of technology, which I think is great."
Sonntag says they expect to see some improvement in student academic metrics this year, but they can never be certain.
Back in Elmhurst, mom Jill Nicoli’s trying to use her ‘Schools Beyond Screens’ group to engage with other families beyond, well, screens. Along with WhatsApp and Facebook, they’re now holding iPad-free coffee playdates — with kids welcome, of course.
“It's been great leading it, and learning more along the journey, and not feeling so alone," she said. "At the very least, Jill and I are no longer on an island. We've built a coalition of like-minded parents and like-minded kids, and it feels really good.”
She’s encouraged their school districts seem to be listening, but hope they’ll follow Hinckley-Big Rock’s lead and get rid of 1:1 devices — and cut back screentime during school time.
