Phones must be off and away all day at North Thurston schools. How’s it going so far?
Over the summer of 2024, leadership at North Thurston Public Schools and the North Thurston Education Association — the union that represents teachers — came to terms on a two-year memorandum of understanding on cell phones and similar devices that prohibits students from using their devices during the school day.
The new rule took effect at the beginning of the school year. Many of the district’s elementary and middle schools already were following a similar rule, but the MOU created a new district-wide expectation, including for its four high schools: North Thurston, Envision Career Academy, River Ridge and Timberline.
It reads: “Students in possession of telecommunications devices, including, but not limited to, cell phones, smartwatches, non-medical listening devices, and headsets, while on school property or while attending school-sponsored or school-related activities, will observe the following conditions:
- “Telecommunication devices will be turned on, accessed, and operated only before and after the regular school day, unless an emergency situation exists that involves imminent physical danger or a building administrator authorizes the student to use the device.
- “Students will not use telecommunication devices in a manner that poses a threat to academic integrity, disrupts the learning environment, or violates the rights of others.”
So how’s it going so far?
NTEA President Ray Nelson believes the new district-wide expectation is going well. School board President Gretchen Maliska agrees.
“Although it’s still early in the school year, the initial feedback has been quite encouraging,” Maliska said in an email. “Both observations and input from stakeholders, including educators, students and families, indicate that the policy is having a positive impact in the classroom.
“Teachers have shared that it has become easier to maintain engagement during lessons, which allows for more meaningful instruction and interaction. Students are also adapting well, demonstrating a growing understanding of the importance of minimizing distractions to maximize their learning potential.”
What do students think?
The Olympian wasn’t able to get any firsthand comments from students, but there was a meeting of the student advisory council in early October, which has student representation from all 24 schools in the district. They were asked about their own and their family’s experiences with mobile devices as well as how “off and away” affected their schools.
Here’s what some of them had to say:
▪ “Four family members have phones. Average use of phones 2-13 hours per day (most are 3-6 hours per day). Yes, we are addicted.”
▪ “I have an unhealthy obsession with my phone.”
▪ “Working hard on changing the hours on phone, from 7-9 hours down to four hours.”
▪ “A lot of kids got their phones taken away on the first day (of school). It helps me to focus more.”
▪ “Less anxiety and stress for school now that there is an off and away policy.”
▪ “Has really helped me be less distracted and to focus more.”
▪ “Some teachers are less strict than others with the policy.”
▪ “I’ve seen someone who is failing all classes before and now they are doing way better.”
▪ “It has reduced the feeling of boredom.”
▪ “Not being able to use my camera has impacted my creative process.”
How did we get here?
Union President Nelson said the idea of limiting the use of cell phones arose out of discussions about student discipline. He also acknowledged a personal interest in the topic after he read “The Anxious Generation,” a best-selling book by author Jonathan Haidt that explores the effects of digital dependency.
The tagline for the book: “How the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness..” The book’s cover shows a girl staring at a phone.
Nelson was so taken with the book that he bought copies of it for other district leaders and said, “Let’s have a conversation,” followed by, “Can we do something about cell phones?”
Nelson, too, said he has tried to have a different relationship with his phone by placing it on a mantel at home and treating it like a land line instead of constantly wondering if he’s missing something.
There was a time, not so long ago, he recalled, that if you missed a phone call on your land line, you just said, “Oh, well.”
Instead, like the book, Nelson fears that phones and other devices have “done a number on the development of kids’ brains.”
Not everyone agrees.
Before the school year started, an online petition was created by a student on the Change.org website to reverse the new cell phone rule.
“The North Thurston School District has posed a new phone policy that prevents students like me from utilizing their technology during non-educational periods throughout the day,” the petition reads. “This policy not only takes away our personal freedom but also fails to acknowledge the integral role technology plays in our daily lives.”
But that appears to be a minority view of the situation. The petition failed to meet its goal of 500 signatures by quite a margin, attracting about 300.
Nelson takes issue with the word “policy,” pointing out that the MOU is only in place for two years. Soon, the district will have to decide whether to make it policy.
“If we are a system that cares about education and child development, we will take it seriously,” he said.
