A Cell Phone-Free School Day

This school year, Presbyterian Christian School introduced a cell phone-free school day to create a more focused and engaged learning environment. Now, midway through the year, survey results from students, parents, and teachers reveal a shared consensus: the policy is a positive change.

Key Highlights

The survey collected feedback from all stakeholders (students, parents, and teachers), showing several benefits: The survey collected feedback from all stakeholders (students, parents, and teachers), showing several benefits:

Increased Engagement: 57.6% of students reported that the policy was effective in limiting distractions caused by cell phones during class time.

Over 80% of teachers reported improved student attention and participation during lessons with fewer distractions from devices.

Stronger Connections: 82% of teachers reports more face-to-face interactions between peer groups during breaks and lunch.

Improved Well-Being: 79.4% of parents who completed the survey reported that not having access to social media during the school day has improved their student’s focus and overall happiness during the school day.

Consistency: All stakeholders agreed that fair enforcement of the policy is a struggle and that there are certainly still times where students sneak or access their phone despite efforts to curtail use.

Addressing Concerns

Teachers acknowledged initial enforcement challenges but noted the policy’s success in creating a more interactive classroom. While some students and parents worried about emergency access to phones, the school addressed this by ensuring personal devices could be accessed through the office when needed. Several parents acknowledge the challenge of communicating changes in after school logistics with the new policy. Students have the ability to use their cell phones for emergencies or personal calls in the student conference room (main office). Additionally, a land line phone is available for those who do not bring phones to school.

As expected students provided feedback asking for consideration of accessing phones during break and lunch.

A Shared Success

Despite differing perspectives, the survey highlights widespread agreement that the cell phone-free policy is working and it is a positive change for the PCS community. Parents appreciate the academic and social benefits, teachers value the focus in classrooms, and students enjoy deeper connections with peers.

Secondary Campus Director, Brandi Richardson shared, “I am blown away by the response of the student body regarding acceptance of the new cell phone policy. When we presented the policy at the opening of school, we made it clear the concept of the policy was not a “got you” policy. We explained that our intention was to help improve school day focus, increase peer-to-peer social engagement, and remove the distraction of social media for their overall mental health.” Additionally, Richardson said, “I am proud of the respectful, but honest feedback many of our students shared. Overall students find value in the policy, but as any teenager would agree, they would rather have the phone!” The cell phone-free school day reminds us that change can bring growth. We’re excited to continue creating a learning environment that prioritizes focus, connection, and success.

5 Tips for Parents to Keep Cell Phone Time Under Control at Home

Parents should examine and be mindful of their own cell phone use. The average U.S. adult spends around 3 hours and 45 minutes on his or her phone every day. Our children notice this. Make it a collaborative effort for all family members to spend less time on their phones.

Create phone-free environments in and around the home. You might designate certain areas of the home or time spent as a family as “phone-free zones.” For example, the family dinner table, where so many organic conversations can grow, or the car ride to school, where you can have one-on-one conversations with your children.

Highly consider keeping phones out of your child’s bedroom at night. Phones are often the first thing teens look at when they wake up and the last thing they see when they go to bed. The same is true of many adults, too! Sometimes, they’re checking them throughout the night, causing them to literally lose sleep. Get an old fashioned alarm clock so kids won’t need to use their phones as their alarms. By taking away the temptation of the phone when kids go to bed, parents are helping their children get better sleep, which can lead to better grades, better attitudes, and healthier phone habits.

Institute screen and phone-time rules. Most experts recommend that kids and teens should limit their recreational screen time to two hours or less a day. It’s not easy to keep children at that level, but it can be done. Just as you might have tech-free zones, your family should have tech-free times as well. Discourage passive-screen multitasking or scrolling. Have each family member check his or her average daily screen time at the end of the week and set goals on how to lower screen times.

Encourage non-tech activities. Teens often use their phones to deal with boredom. Channel their attention in other ways, and they just might not want to use their phones as much. Take walks or play outdoor games as a family, encourage participation in sports, institute a family board-game night, etc.