Belmont High to Ban Cell Phones in the Classroom

Beginning next year, cell phones will no longer be in students’ hands during class periods but will be stored in cell phone holders.

“Most people I know, their main issue with it is the fact that teachers or adults aren’t giving them enough trust or a choice,” said sophomore Chaivin Moon, 15. “High schoolers usually look forward to high school because there is so much more freedom. Taking away your phone is a limitation of that.

“From what I’ve heard, it’s less about the phones and more about how they’re trying to not let us do what we want to do,” she said.

In a newsletter sent to Belmont High students and families, Principal Isaac Taylor explained that the decision to rewrite the policy followed consultation with students, staff, and families.

“Ultimately, we took the decision to change the policy because we believe the negatives of cell phone use (e.g. distraction, social isolation, compulsive behavior) far outweigh the potential benefits of allowing cell phones in the classroom,” he wrote. “From September, the use of cell phones and earbuds will not be permitted during class time, and students will be expected to place phones in cell phone “hotels” in their classrooms, including when they leave class for the bathroom.”

Cell phones and earbuds will be accessible to students during passing time, lunchtime, and free periods.

“We’re trying this out, we’re going to see how it goes,” Taylor told School Committee members, who reviewed the new policy in the student handbook at a recent meeting.

Taylor previously said the inconsistency in classroom expectations created challenges for teachers who choose to enforce a no-cell phone policy in their classrooms. He added that cell phones have cut down on students’ ability to engage with one another.

“It’s definitely something I’ve picked up on as a principal when I’ve been out and about in the school, which is that classes are much quieter than they used to be,” Taylor said at the time. “We do tend to focus on the academic piece that you’re not listening to your teacher, but I also think it’s about listening and interacting with your peers.”

In a survey to staff and faculty that garnered 80 responses, roughly 87% of responders expressed support for a new policy, according to Taylor. As for the survey sent to families, of 431 responses, 69% came from parents, a majority of whom also expressed support for a new cell phone policy, he said.

Teachers interviewed by The Voice earlier this year were divided in their opinions and practices when it comes to cell phone use in the classroom. Some teachers, including Spanish teacher Gabrielle Garschina, said they already require students to place their cell phones in a holder at the start of class.

“For me, it’s very cut and dry,” Garschina said. “I just didn’t want to police it. They’d have [their phone] under their legs, in their pocket … anywhere they could so they’d be able to feel that connection to their phone.”

Others, however, expressed skepticism about a cell phone ban.

“If it means we’re going to have to devote time every day to collecting phones … and trying to discipline kids who are breaking policy, I don’t think it’s going to work,” said physics teacher John Loosmann. “Teachers are so busy as it is.”

Moon, who will be a junior next year, said while the reasons for the policy change “make sense,” it was unclear to her what provoked it this year.

“It makes sense why they’re doing it,” she said, referring to a presentation administrators gave at the final school assembly last week, which highlighted the use of cell phones on students’ mental health. “But understanding it and liking it are two different things.”