Starting on Wednesday, Oct. 15, Wayland Middle School students are required to place their phones in “Yondr” pouches, magnetically locking up their phones before school begins. Students are not able to retrieve their phones without an unlocking base, which are made available at the end of the school day.
There are six locations with unlocking bases: four in the lobby, one in the Wellness hallway and one at the side entrance of the building, near the sixth grade wing.
“What we are trying to build is a very seamless system, so the concentration stays on learning,” Special Education Director Deborah Dixson said. “We take care of this [system] at the beginning of the day and at the end of the day.”
According to surveys conducted by the Pew Research Center, 72% of U.S. high school teachers believe phone usage is an issue, providing a distraction from learning. However, according to the Wayland School Committee, some parents and students are concerned about the inability to contact guardians in an emergency situation.
While the board has not yet proposed a solution for this concern, students with medical conditions are issued bags with velcro openings, allowing for phone access without an unlocking base in case of an emergency. Students who do not have medical conditions, but need to communicate with their caregivers, can do so through the office phone.
According to WMS statistics provided by the School Committee, there were over 250 instances last year of WMS students caught attempting to use their phones during the school day, despite the “during the day, off and away” mantra.
“As a community, we are put in the position of needing to respond to [students using their phones in school],” Dixson said. “Despite our efforts to make this plan work, I think our staff hadn’t really committed to it, and that really translates into this worrisome part because it is a negative interaction between a student and teacher around a device.”
However, according to 8th grader Maya O’Shaughnessy, students are unhappy with the new policy and feel that it is inessential.
“I think that [the phone policy is] unnecessary and introduces a new distraction that is worse than just keeping it in your bag,” O’Shaugnessy said.
