As phones become an increasing problem in classrooms, Webster Groves High School is beginning to look toward taking steps to address the issue.
The current phone policy includes phones not being allowed within the classroom without explicit approval of the teacher.
The WGHS 2023-24 Handbook states, “If the electronic device is visible in class or causes a disruption in the class, the student will be referred to the office and assigned a consequence.”
Though this is in place, it is not universally enforced amongst all classrooms.
English teacher Emily Pott said that as the year goes on, the current policy becomes harder to enforce and that a more universal policy throughout the school would help.
Pott said, “Even though my syllabus states one thing– students are in charge of their phones in the classroom. I will ask them to put phones away at certain times, but overall they are deciding when to use their phone. I want that policy to work; I think in theory juniors and seniors need to start practicing self-regulation skills, which is why I’m not a hammer about phones.”
On Monday, Feb. 26, principal Matt Irvin emailed a presentation to WGHS staff which contained information about possible phone policies to imply at the high school.
The presentation also contained the advantages and disadvantages of each policy option as well as the costs.
Irvin said, “The goal is to clarify the learning setting, and we are hearing from a lot of our staff that they would want something that is more stringent.”
The first phone policy option shown in the slideshow is to have students silence their phones and put them in a designated area; however, if a student needs to leave the classroom their phone must remain in the area it was placed at the start of class.
Of these options, there are several ways the school is looking at holding the phones such as a bin in each classroom which would cost $4,000-$6,000 for the whole school. Another option (that would cost four thousand dollars) is for each student to have a clear pencil case on their desk where their phone is placed face-down.
Another option the school is looking at is Yondr pouches, which are pouches to hold a phone that automatically lock when closed and require a circular magnet to unlock. This option would cost $43,000 for the entire school. However, if this were to be implied, the question of what students should do if an emergency situation occurs because the lock on the Yondr pouches requires a special magnet to open them.
According to U.S. News, nearly 350 school shooting incidents occurred across the United States in 2023.
If the high school was to implement one of these policies that take a student’s phone away or lock the phone where a student cannot access it, then if this – or any other emergency situation– were to occur then the student could not contact their parents which would not be beneficial for student safety.
On Tuesday, March 12, in Orlando Florida, an Orange County High School went on lockdown for nearly three hours after there was a report of a suspicious person on campus. The report was cleared as unfounded and that there was no threat however before this was learned, during the lockdown, parents had trouble contacting their kids.
One mother of a student at the school, Shahid Kahn, said during the lockdown “I tried calling my son but the school policy doesn’t allow phones so I can’t get his insight.”
Though the threat was cleared, this event shows how taking away a student’s phone can cause a risk if there were to be an emergency because the student is unable to contact their parents or guardians.
As for if a policy will be implemented at Webster, Irvin said, “I would say we are exploring right now; looking at a bunch of different options and part of our process will be to work with Student Allies, and we have processes where we typically engage with Student Council.”
Irvin said that in the past he has also gone to advisories and expects that they will approach the phone policy similar to how they polled students about continuing the Friendship Dance with Kirkwood.
“We just want to do the best we can for our students, and I think we’re trying to find what the answer might be,” Irvin said.
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