Sign up for Chalkbeat Philadelphia’s free newsletter to keep up with the city’s public school system.At West Philadelphia High School, kids are sometimes on their phones — but they’re not breaking any rules.The school has a new cellphone policy, implemented last school year, that requires teachers to lock up student phones in a clear cabinet at the front of each classroom. During class, the phones are visible but out of reach. Then, when the bell rings, kids get them back. That means students can scroll TikTok at lunch and text their parents between classes. During some lessons, teachers can unlock the phones, allowing students to use them for schoolwork.“We want to be innovators,” said climate manager Eugene Lett Jr. “We want kids to have their phones. But not during instruction time.”West Philly High’s approach differs from the so-called “bell-to-bell” cellphone bans taking off around the country. In states such as New York and New Jersey, lawmakers now require schools to prohibit student cellphone use throughout the school day, including lunch and transition times. These policies include some exceptions but are largely meant to prevent student cellphone use at school entirely.In Pennsylvania, Gov. Josh Shapiro has said he wants lawmakers to pass a similar ban. Proponents say bell-to-bell bans encourage social interaction and help kids focus on learning. But as Pennsylvania lawmakers continue negotiating school cellphone use regulations, some school leaders say they like their own approaches, which a statewide ban could disrupt.The state Senate passed a bill in February to ban students’ use of cellphones during the school day, and the House passed an amended version in June. The bill includes exceptions for students who need devices for medical use, translation, or communication support. But lawmakers have yet to agree on a final version, as disagreements remain over which schools the ban should apply to and what exceptions it should include.That means districts are largely on their own to determine how to manage student cellphone use. In Philadelphia, the district leaves cellphone policies and enforcement up to individual schools. The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers has supported Shapiro’s call for a statewide cellphone ban. But Superintendent Tony Watlington has previously said he believes decisions about student cellphone use are “best made at the school level.” Philadelphia leaves cellphone policies up to schoolsAt West Philly High, Principal Marla Travis said the school used to require students to store their phones in locked pouches for the entire day. The goal was to limit distractions and keep students focused on learning. But in practice, she said, it was difficult to implement and made kids and families anxious.Phones still buzzed even if they were stored away, and some kids found ways to unlock the pouches. The cost of buying new pouches and the staff time needed to unlock them for hundreds of kids at the end of each day also added to the challenge.So Travis’s team met with students and staff during town halls to discuss what they could improve. Teachers wanted an easier way to manage the end-of-day phone unlocking rush. Students wanted to check their phones a few times throughout the day to communicate with their families.Travis got the idea for the clear, locked cabinets from an airport charging station. They cost $35 each and are simple to use, she said. A handful of times, students have tried to turn in dummy phones to avoid handing over their real ones. But overall, she said, “they seem to like it, and they abide by the rules.”West Philadelphia High School Principal Marla Travis says locked cabinets in each classroom help the school limit student cellphone use while still allowing students to use phones between class.But a mile away, at James Rhoads Elementary School, storing student cellphones in locked pouches has worked well, said Principal Megan Wapner.The school provides Yondr pouches to all students in grades 3-8. Students lock their phones inside before entering the building in the morning, and staff unlock them at the end of the day. “We’ve seen engagement tremendously improve,” Wapner said. “We’ve seen our teachers’ ability to teach has completely changed.”Wapner implemented the Yondr pouches at Rhoads shortly after the pandemic, when she said she saw students frequently distracted by their devices. Teachers struggled to compete with the endless entertainment of YouTube and Instagram. Students would sometimes get in fights based on texts or rumors.In middle school, “big feelings are happening all the time,” said Rhoads English language arts teacher Rafael Schneider. Being without their phones gives students a kind of “cooldown time,” he said, and keeps them present in class.James Rhoads Elementary School Climate Manager Lamond Muhammad displays the Yondr pouches the school uses to prevent students from using their phones.Teachers and leaders at Rhoads say managing phones and unlocking pouches for their 400 students isn’t a strain. But they understand it could be trickier at schools with older kids or more students. Still, Wapner said she supports a statewide ban. Families and students were initially skeptical of her school’s policy, but pushback is now rare, she said. She said she believes a statewide ban could help other schools get cellphone use under control.“We have really seen a difference,” she said. “You won’t see them on their phones at all. You won’t see phones in the building, and you will also see kids talking, looking at each other, making new friends.”Rebecca Redelmeier is a reporter at Chalkbeat Philadelphia. She writes about public schools, early childhood education, and issues that affect students, families, and educators across Philadelphia. Contact Rebecca at rredelmeier@chalkbeat.org.
