Credit: Maddie Zajac

WHS implements new phone policy that restricts students from cell phone usage or possession during class. WSPN’s Marissa Mendoza and Maddie Zajac overview the new policy, discussing some of the varied opinions from both educators and students. “Every response we’ve gotten from parents is like, ‘thank you for doing this’,” Vice Principal Laura Cole said.

This year, Wayland High School’s administrative council enacted a new cell phone policy that requires students to keep their phones in a location off of their person and out of their backpacks for the entirety of class. Cell phones are only allowed to be used while walking in the hallway between classes, during lunch and free periods.

Outside of Wayland, some schools allow their students to keep their cell phones on their body, whether in their pocket, in their hand or on their desk. Meanwhile, some other schools mandate that students keep their cell phones in their backpacks or in a phone holder located in the classroom. Now that the first quarter of the school year is coming to a close, students and faculty can reflect on this policy.

“We, [the administrative council], started seeing all these other educational institutions [implementing cell phone policies], so we asked ourselves, how does [technology] impact our students?” Vice Principal Laura Cole said. “We were noticing a huge impact [from cell phones]. Whether it was kids just missing out on learning because they were on their devices or they were leaving class to go film a TikTok in the bathroom for like 45 minutes. [Although], not all students do that.”

For some students, this may feel like a punishment or an annoyance. This being the first year this policy has been firmly in place, some upperclassmen may have a harder time adjusting than others.

“As a senior, it’s really weird because we didn’t have [the phone policy] freshman or sophomore year,” senior Rose Jacquinet said. “It kind of started [last] year, but it wasn’t a big thing yet [at the time]. I guess as seniors, our teachers are like ‘Oh since you guys didn’t have it for three years, we’re not gonna really enforce it.’ I think I only have one teacher that really enforces it. It’s a little annoying because sometimes you do need your phone for class, but I think it’s a lot easier [for] seniors than it is [for] other grades.”

Members of the Class of 2028 aren’t familiar with a WHS prior to the policy. At Wayland Middle School (WMS), the phone policy appears to be similar to the high school one, disallowing students from using phones during class. For some of the freshmen, this is making it easier for them to adjust to the policy, seeing as they have experienced similar rules.

“I teach primarily freshmen and they are just much more focused in class and adhering to the policy really easily,” English teacher Sara Pourghasemi said. “I [also] have a junior advisory, and I can see why it’s more difficult for juniors, since it’s their third year before a really consistent policy has been in place.”

While it can appear more difficult for students who have attended WHS before the implementation of this policy to adapt, it is also true for other students that the phone policy doesn’t affect them as much. As juniors and seniors begin to start the college process, there may not be enough time for these students to be on their devices compared to previous years.

“I noticed that [the phone policy] mostly impacts the younger grades because as students get older, like in 11th and 12th grade, the academic switch in your brain development pops on, and you’re like, ‘No, in order for me to do well in this class, I really can’t be looking at Snapchat or Tiktok during class,’” Cole said.

Some teachers believe that this new rule can pose a healthy solution to students being distracted in class. It can help eliminate a distraction, one which is a common cause of students falling behind during class.

“I think that cell phones get in the way of students’ learning, and they’re highly addictive,” English teacher Nancy Florez said. “Your brains are in a place where it’s hard to regulate, so I think that the cell phone policy kind of enforces students to disconnect from their cell phones while they’re learning.”

While technology can be distracting and harmful during class, some students have noticed that regardless of the phone policy, other students continue to look at their computers during class. Whether students are playing games, watching videos or doing work from a different class, some student believe computers can be just as distracting as phones.

“It’s definitely a personal choice whether you pay attention or not,” Sophomore Mia Farley said. “If you’re the kind of person who is going to [be distracted] anyway, you’ll just play games on your computer.”

For periods such as advisory, some students appreciate the short amount of time to finish notes, turn in assignments or catch up on work. As for other students, some may prefer to use the time to catch up on texts from family and friends, run to the bathroom or eat a quick snack. Everyone uses their time in advisory differently, and the phone policy has changed that for some classrooms.

“What I like about not having phones in advisory is that it allows the students to just hear what the teachers [and] each other are trying to share because we’re trying to do some [bonding] exercises [and] activities,” Pourghasemi said.

Advisory can also be seen as a space to talk to peers and teachers in their class. According to Cole, Florez and Pourghasemi, this class provides a space for class bonding and “human connection.”

“Advisory is seven minutes where you can connect with other human beings instead of being on your phone,” Cole said. “I think that human connection in our society is lacking, and we need to work to build upon it so that we can understand people better instead of being sucked into our phones.”

Some neighboring schools in Massachusetts, such as Framingham, have also been implementing cell phone policies. While Framingham High School requires students to keep their phones inside their bags or a holder on a wall, other schools such as Brockton High School are using Yondr bags instead. Yondr bags simply lock up phones in order to ensure a phone free space. According to Cole, this policy is a matter of trust and hopes that there will be no need to implement stricter regulations such as Yondr bags.

“I want kids to comply with this [policy] because I think it’s a first step in creating independence and regulating your technology use during the day,” Cole said. “We’re just asking you to learn and that shouldn’t be too challenging, in my opinion.”

The process of implementing this policy has been a lengthy one. Seeing the difference in cell phone use this year compared to previous years can be seen as impressive. The goal of this policy is to ensure that students are not distracted and learn in the classroom setting.

“I’m happy that this school year we decided to implement stricter rules,” Cole said. “I’ve been really impressed with students. I think they’re doing a really good job because they know that we don’t want these [distractions] in our learning environments. We want to ensure that they get the education that they deserve here, [which is] hard to do if kids are on their devices.”

According to Cole, every response received from parents has been positive. While not all families have the same rules regarding their children’s technology use, this policy ensures that every student has their devices treated the same way while present at school.

“I do think that there’s a large group of parents that need support or want the help to figure out how to teach their kid to regulate cell phone use,” Cole said. “It’s part of [our community’s] goal [to regulate technology use] and we all are in this together to help support [our] kids.”