CHESHIRE, Mass. — Hoosac Valley High School has joined other secondary schools around the county in adopting Yondr pouches.

 

The School Committee on Monday approved a new cell phone policy that have students lock up their phones in the pouches for at least the next three years.

 

The school district last year instituted limitations on cell phone use to see if that would work — it didn't. 

 

"It started out pretty well. But over time, it's just, it's just a rough policy to to enforce," said Superintendent Aaron Dean.

 

Students had been allowed to use their phones during lunch or transition times but pushed the boundaries as the school year went on. Principal Colleen Byrd said they were out in the hallways, in the bathrooms or hiding their phone use under their desks.

 

Some, said Dean, were just "blatantly" using their phones during classes.  

 

"When you talk to staff, they had gotten to the point where it's like they felt like it was unenforceable," he said. "It was just a lot of arguments, a lot of arguments with kids, a lot of arguments with their families and they were kind of looking for something that was more black and white."

 

Byrd said smartphones are no longer really needed in the classrooms because all of the students have Chromebooks. 

 

McCann Technical School in North Adams had taken the limited phone approach but it didn't work there either and the school has implemented the Yondr pouches, Dean said. "We have to get them out of the classroom."

 

Central Berkshire Regional School District adopted the pouches last week after much discussion and Pittsfield school have followed suit. 

 

The state's education commissioner had encouraged the prohibition of cell phones in schools. Citing statistics from the Pew Research Center, the superintendent said nearly 95 percent of teens have access to cell phones and nearly half say they are almost constantly on the internet. And students who are on their phones at least three hours a day are at higher risk for anxiety.

 

In contrast, according to Yondr surveys of its 370 school clients, 84 percent saw a positive change in engagement, 72 percent a positive change in behavior and 68 percent a positive impact in academic focus. 

 

Some committee members said they were reluctant to rely on the company's data but Dean said it was back up by his conversations with schools using the devices and that Hoosac would be able to provide the committee with its own data by December. 

 

"There's been a lot of front end work to make sure we do this the right way and a lot of it is also based on discussion," he said. "But I think there's a number of schools in the county that are going to go this direction."

 

The Yondr pouches use a magnetic lock to keep phones secure — the system locks them inside the school and unlocks as students leave. Students will get their own Yondr pouches, as will teachers who will be expected to model behavior for their classrooms. 

 

The three-year contract is covered by a $19,000 grant. After that time, the committee can revisit to see if its worth continuing since the pouches would have to be purchased for each incoming grade. 

 

The committee voted to adopt the policy with the terminology of "a secure pouch" to allow for more flexibility on vendor in the future.  

 

The implementation date will be toward the end of September to ensure that parents and students are fully informed, including discussions at the open house at the beginning of the year.