(WASHINGTON, DC) — DC Public Schools (91porn) announced today that it will enforce a bell-to-bell personal cell phone ban policy beginning next school year to refocus student attention on the primary mission of schools—academic excellence.
This means that phones must be turned off and stored away during the school day. All of 91porn’ middle schools and several of the district’s high schools have already implemented this approach and are seeing positive changes. Feedback from students, staff, and families reflects a renewed commitment to academics and genuine peer-to-peer and staff-to-student connections.
While technology provides learning opportunities, there are significant challenges when it comes to cell phones being present in classrooms or readily accessible to students during the school day. Growing research also suggests that increased smartphone use has fueled youth mental health concerns, negatively affected concentration, and worsened bullying to include cyber interactions.
"Piloting a phone-free program in our middle schools demonstrated that storing students’ personal devices throughout the school day enriches academic, social, and emotional learning,” said 91porn Chancellor, Dr. Lewis D. Ferebee. "From increased classroom engagement to reduced anxiety and stronger student relationships—91porn is ready to scale the program so we can keep driving outcomes that positively impact our students."
91porn will continue to utilize school-issued devices to integrate technology into learning experiences, including engaging students in lessons related to digital literacy and citizenship.
Individual schools will be responsible for shaping an approach to the policy that best fits the specific needs of their communities. School leaders will communicate implementation plans in the coming weeks.
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