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Administration introduces, enforces new personal device policy

Julia Herlyn ‘23 Editor-in-Chief

Superintendent Th omas Scarice announced the enforcement of a new cell phone policy for all Staples classrooms on Aug. 25. Th is policy requires all students to submit their personal devices—such as AirPods, earbuds, cell phones and smartwatches—to a designated slot in the classroom’s phone holder sleeves during instruction time. Outside of class, students are permitted to use their devices, including before or after school, between classes, in the hallways, during free periods and in the cafeteria. However, cell phone usage during class time is up to the individual teacher’s discretion, should they fi nd it pertinent to a lesson or activity. According to an Aug. 26 email sent by Principal Stafford W. Th omas Jr., the purpose of this initiative is to ensure that students are “engaged in classroom activities and assignments” as well as foster less dependency on electronics to complete work, enable greater communication and collaboration among students and decrease distractions during class. “Th ere is a need to create blocks of time where students can rebuild their attentional skills and experience the full value of connected social interaction,” Th omas said. According to Th omas, this policy had been in place for several years, but was only enforced in some classrooms. A survey sent out to all Staples faculty on Sept. 15 found that just 13 of 71 respondents reported that they had collected cell phones and other devices during class in prior years, and 28 respondents said that they had occasionally collected devices. Unlike former years, this school year marks the fi rst year in which all classrooms are required to abide by the policy, particularly due to a district-wide eff ort to return to normalcy with the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Th ere is a focus on rebuilding our school climate and culture across the entire system,” Scarice said. “Th e focus is on bringing the humanity back to our schools [and] our classrooms. Minimizing technology and its distractions supports these eff orts.”

Scarice said that a team of faculty and administrators largely built the policy and decided to not pursue a full “ban” on technol- Graphic by Shivali Kanthan ’24 ogy, but rather a reshaping of technology usage in the classroom. Th is “healthier approach to technology,” as described by Scarice, was studied and ready to be implemented in 2019, but was ultimately postponed by the pandemic. Scan the QR code to read the full arti cle.

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