By Phoebe Taylor-Vuolo, WSKG
Aug. 27 — This fall, schools in Vestal and Binghamton will begin requiring students to put away their phones in locked, magnetic pouches during the school day. The policy is meant to cut down on tech-related distractions in class.
The “Yondr” pouches are small, padded bags. Once they’re locked, they can only be opened by a round, magnetic device.
This school year, students at Vestal Middle School will line up each morning and receive a pouch to lock away their phones, AirPods and smartwatches. At the end of each day, they will get the pouch unlocked before they leave school.
School officials say students are increasingly distracted by their phones during class. A recent Pew Research poll found 72% of U.S. high school teachers felt phones were a major distraction in class.
Vestal assistant superintendent for instruction, Dr. Patrick Clarke, said while the school district already had a policy banning the use of phones during class, it was difficult for teachers to enforce.
Clarke said the school district put together a “device task force” made up of parents, students, teachers and board of education members to develop a new policy.
“After diving into the research on student devices, there were two major findings. The first was that devices were a strong distraction for students that were often impairing student learning,” Clarke said. “And the second was that devices were associated with negative mental health outcomes, including increased incidents of anxiety and depression and increases in cyberbullying.”
Schools across the country have instituted similar policies in recent years. In Vestal, the new phone policy will only apply to middle schoolers, for now.
“This was the opportunity before the addiction formed, before they started those bad habits with the phone, to start teaching those tools, teach them how to pause it, and then go from there,” Vestal Middle School Principal Sarah Wiggins said. “But that’s not to say that this program will not grow to the high school.”
The Vestal School District purchased 1,000 Yondr pouches for about $30 each. Officials said funding for the pouches comes entirely from grant money.
“There are many schools nationwide that are using them. We’ve also worked with districts in New York state that have already implemented them to get a feel for what it’s going to be like as we go through the first few weeks,” Wiggins said. “We’re going to be collecting data. We’re going to be talking with the kids, any parent who wants to reach out and share their thoughts on how things are going.”
At a town hall held by the school district earlier this month, families were mixed on the plan. Several parents spoke in favor of the new policy, but others had concerns over safety. Some parents worried about whether their children would be able to call for help in an emergency.
Vestal officials say their next capital project will involve implementing emergency call buttons in classrooms so that students and teachers can alert first responders if needed.
The Binghamton City School District also recently announced they will be using Yondr pouches this school year. Binghamton High School, as well as two middle schools, will be implementing the policy.
The districts are just the latest of many across the state to implement similar phone policies with varying success, including schools in Norwich in Chenango County, Newburgh in the Hudson Valley, and New York City.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul has been on a listening tour across the state, hearing from students, parents and educators as she considers a statewide policy regarding phone use in classes.