Courtesy of Patrick Massey of KDQN and The De Queen Bee
DE QUEEN – The De Queen School District will launch a pilot program on two of its campuses this upcoming school year aimed at addressing the negative effects of student cellphone use.
Monday night, the De Queen School Board approved the experimental program after a recommendation by Superintendent Jason Sanders. The district’s current policy prohibits students from having their devices out on campus, but otherwise they remain available throughout the school day.
The new initiative will focus on the middle school and junior high campuses, where Sanders said cellphones are causing the most issues. Students who want to bring a phone with them to school will be required to place them in a specially-designed magnetic pouch that will lock upon entering the building and automatically unlock when they exit.
The pouches, produced by Yondr, would be provided to students at no cost and will be funded through a $27,000 state grant.
Sanders said he and a select group of administrators from 15 other districts in Arkansas recently met with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders to discuss the negative effects of cellphones on student learning and how to address the issue. Sanders said a number of challenges ranging from mental health to disciplinary infractions to learning issues can be tied back to student cellphone use.
“The governor asked us to be part of a committee in Little Rock to look at cellphone use, mental health of our students, and looking at whether there’s anything the state can do to help schools [with this issue],” said Sanders. “She introduced that she’d like to start a pilot program to help secure cellphones during the school day. I think we can all agree that during the school day, when we’re trying to learn with students, that it’s very hard especially at that age group for them to concentrate and focus if they have those devices. It seems like they’re the source of a lot of issues in our school.”
The phone would be inaccessible in its pouch, but parents could continue to use apps like Life 360 to monitor their child’s location.
“The parent can still have [Life 360] for their student and see where their child is during the school day,” explained Sanders. “This just makes sure that when that phone goes off that student doesn’t start messing with their phone and losing their focus on learning. We’re going to try it for a year, it may not be for us but it may be good. We can look at other campuses as needed down the road.”
Sanders said the district consulted with its campus principals to see where cellphones posed the biggest challenge to providing students with a quality education. From that discussion, Sanders said the program will be implemented only on the middle school and junior high campuses for the 2024-25 school year. The district will study the results after one year.
“Based on talking to our principals, we felt that the middle school and junior high would be the best places to implement this pilot program,” said Sanders. “From here, schools will give data back to the governor and they’ll look at it to see if it helps with mental health issues, makes kids happier when they turn off their phones. We just want kids to come to school and communicate with their peers in person.”
A discussion on student cellphone use has sparked off across the state and nation particularly after the release of The Anxious Generation by Dr. Jonathan Haidt earlier this year. The book warns of what cellphones may be doing to young people in regards to learning loss and mental health issues. Sanders said he recommends the book to all parents looking to help their child avoid device addiction.
“I highly recommend any parent that’s looking for advice or another resource to read The Anxious Generation by Dr. Haidt,” said Sanders. “The recommendations are very sound: no social media until high school, waiting until the eighth grade to get a cellphone and until high school for a smartphone, and limiting their use as much as possible. The Bentonville School District implemented this pilot program on their own last year and said it cut out its drug-swapping in the bathrooms by 50 percent, it cut down disruptions in school by 50 percent and bullying went down by 25-30 percent. They saw a lot of positive results.”
Sanders said the program’s main goal is to ensure kids spend their time at school learning and preparing for the future.
“We’re not trying to take away anybody’s rights or privileges, but our ultimate goal is to educate these kids from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” said Sanders. “This is a tough situation and one that can have negative impacts, especially for students who aren’t old enough to be able to handle these devices responsibly.”
Gov. Sanders has taken up the issue of cellphone use among young adults as one of her priorities. She recently sent a copy of The Anxious Generation to the governors of every U.S. state and territory along with a letter encouraging them to come together to limit social media and screen use among kids. A similar letter was sent to Arkansas state legislators.
“America’s kids are facing a mental health crisis. I know this isn’t news to any of you. As governors, we’re all searching for ways to help our state’s children and reduce depression, anxiety, and suicide among our young people,” she said in a press release. “Recent research shows us the driver of this crisis: phones and social media. The average American teen now spends nearly 5 hours a day on social media. Spending three or more hours a day on social media doubles kids’ risk of mental health problems. 46 percent of young teens say social media makes them feel worse about their body.”
The Anxious Generation details several steps to help address the issue:
1. No smartphones before high school
2. No social media before 16
3. Phone-free schools
4. More outdoor play and childhood independence
“Millions of American kids have fallen into the dark sewer of social media and screen addiction. As governors, we need to come together and help save this generation,” Gov. Sanders said in her letter.
U.S. Congressman Bruce Westerman, who represents Arkansas’ Fourth District, recently introduced a bipartisan bill that would require the U.S. Department of Education to complete a study on the effects of cellphone use in K-12 classrooms and its impact on students’ mental health and academic performance.