The beginning of the 2024 school year has brought a new policy to Harwood Union High School. The rural school has decided to implement a strict no-phone policy. The school spent 21,000 of federal aid money that came with the COVID pandemic on Yondr® Pouches.
The pouches are equipped with a magnet that can only be unlocked in certain areas of the school. Students must lock their phones in the pouches at the beginning of the school day and they stay locked until dismissal.
Harwood students have expressed their concerns about losing their phones during the school day and have raised legitimate safety concerns.
Senior Ethan Patterson said “The biggest concern is not being able to reach parents or guardians in emergencies. Phones are a very helpful tool for communication and it seems extreme to go from phones straight to no phones. Missing access to personal email and communication outside of school could be bad. Especially in Vermont, it’s such a secluded and rural state, it’s nice to have quick communication outside of school.”
On the bright side, Highlanders have noticed many improvements since the new policy.
“I have noticed more social interaction and inverse throughout the school. I see it most in the cafeteria at lunch. More people are interacting with each other and having real conversations when they aren’t looking down at their phones,”
Ethan Patterson noticed.
Another benefit has been more students reading.
Librarian Genevieve Knight shared the following statistic with staff:
“Last year at this point we had 356 circulations. This year we’ve had 482 circulations”
This means we have 126 more circulations (book checkouts or renewals) this year than last year!!”
English teacher at Harwood, Lawrence Gravelle says, “I feel like I’ve been able to get to know students better. When someone’s face is buried in their phone you only want to talk to them so much.”
There have been some drawbacks as well, but staff could see these coming.
“Some in-class behaviors we haven’t seen in a while. Some students used phones instead of acting out so we have seen a bit more of that” continued Gravelle.
Many Highlanders have similar thoughts on the phone policy.
Acer Thompson, a junior at Harwood, says. “I know most students at the school don’t even use the pouches, including myself. Yet I haven’t heard of anyone not following the rules. I think just a strict rule could have done the job without spending all that money.”
While Harwood has been the first to do it, there is legislation in several states to limit phone access during the day. As highlanders see other schools adopt the policy and similar strategies they too will know what it’s like.
