Minnesota school cell phone policy: Follow lead of comedians and musicians

WELLS, Minn. (FOX 9) - Cell phones in Minnesota schools are under new scrutiny this year.

As they each figure out how to limit access, a few schools are using the same strategy as musicians like Bob Dylan and comedians like Dave Chappelle.

The challenge of separating students from phones

As recently as Monday, United South Central (USC) teachers watched their students glued to cell phones every time they stepped out of class.

"Thirty-eight kids walked out of the lunchroom staring at their phones," said teacher Cody Huiras, who stopped counting after that.

"I thought it’s a big problem, especially in the hallways," added teacher Bridgett Strobel. "I mean, you've got every kid basically looking down at their phone."

"What I was seeing was a lot of kids were going to their locker frequently leaving class and leaving those great learning opportunities to check their phones in their lockers," said USC Elementary School principal Jennifer Taylor.

Administrators blame phones, and especially social media on the devices, for distracting students and increasing anxiety. 

How Yondr pouches can help

So what they wanted to do was make cell phones disappear during the school day.

USC invested about $15,000 to buy 500 Yondr pouches. Students lock their phones inside when they get to school, but they can keep them all day, so they always know where their phones are. When it’s time to go home, they unlock them at the office or classroom.

Students have been using the pouches since Tuesday, and not all of them are thrilled, so they’re looking for alternatives.

Students have mixed opinions

"I usually keep my phone in my car because it's my property," said USC senior Emma Johnson, the current Student of the Month. "It's my phone. I know where it is, and I don't have to worry about forgetting."

"There's a lot of people that aren't too happy about it, but there was actually a lot of conversations that we were having with each other," said USC junior Ezra Edwards. "So that was nice to see."

The lunchroom buzzed Friday with kids talking face-to-face, and even skeptical students saw the benefits during learning time.

"I've noticed a significant attentiveness in the classroom where if a teacher is presenting something, everybody is at least looking at the screen," Emma Johnson said.

Teachers, administrators see immediate benefits

Administrators hope separating kids from social media for part of the day reduces disciplinary issues, and in the early days, they believe anxiety levels have dropped.

"We're seeing less trips already to our social services offices for when they're feeling upset about things that have happened in social media," said USC High School principal Jen Bye.

Teachers say classroom performance seems better, and at least one parent says it seems to work.

"I think it's all about focus," said Brittany Voigt, who has two kids at the K-12 school of about 700 students.

At least a couple dozen Minnesota schools are now implementing Yondr pouches. At USC, they can still contact their parents via email on their computers.

But for the most part, they tune out the outside world.