A Kansas principal\u2019s account offers a hopeful glimpse of students connecting with the people around them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cell phones have become such a normal part of daily life that most of us barely notice their ubiquity. That is, unless you\u2019re a teacher battling cell phone use in school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Classrooms and cell phones are a bad combo, but with more than half of U.S. kids getting their own phone by age 12, it\u2019s definitely an issue. Many schools (and even entire states) are instituting phone bans, including one Kansas middle school whose three-year experiment had its principal singing the ban\u2019s praises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
McPherson Middle School in Kansas implemented a policy requiring students to keep their cell phones in their lockers for the entire school day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Inge Esping, McPherson\u2019s principal (and the 2025 Kansas Middle Level Principal of the Year), told EdWeek that the results after three years were \u201cpretty wild.\u201d Chronic absenteeism dropped from 39% to 11%, and school suspensions fell by 70%. But interactions with students really stood out for Esping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNow, when I say hello to students,\u201d she said, \u201cthey\u2019re more likely than before to say \u2018hello\u2019 in return.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tony Cattani, principal of Lenape High School in Medford, N.J., shared how the school\u2019s policy of putting phones in pouches during class has also changed how students work and interact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThey can focus on their work, our grades are up, our conversations and classes are better, and we\u2019re getting to a better routine,\u201d Cattani told EdWeek.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Psychologist Angela Duckworth told the University of Michigan that researchers are \u201cseeing meaningful patterns emerge\u201d in the data around cell phone policies: \u201cFor example, teachers are seeing students talk in hallways face-to-face and engage in the kind of social learning that can\u2019t happen through a screen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It may come as no surprise that limiting or eliminating student cell phone use during the school day would have positive impacts. What may be surprising is how many parents push back against the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Esping, parents were split 50\/50. \u201cWe had about half of our parents who were incredibly excited for this change, and about half of our parents that were very nervous,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cattani told EdWeek it was more like 80\/20 at his school, with the majority concerned about not being able to contact their child throughout the day. Not having easy access to their phones in emergencies, such as active shooter situations, made parents particularly nervous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I talked about our crisis plan and explained that a cellphone isn\u2019t going to be the thing that prevents or saves students, it was helpful,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Teachers, on the other hand, are all for it. Last year, Cattani brought his 225 staff members together in small groups to answer the question, \u201cWhat is one thing we could do next year to get better?\u201d Unanimously, they said they wanted a clear and strict cell phone policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Phones in Focus is a nonpartisan research initiative that \u201caims to provide evidence-based recommendations for school phone policies that optimally support academic learning, healthy social relationships, and emotional well-being.\u201d It\u2019s the first national study of school cell phone policies and the largest survey of teachers on the subject, with over 68,000 responses representing around 17% of American public schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The research team has found that the share of schools in their sample with bell-to-bell phone bans rose from 60% in the 2024\u201325 school year to 74% in 2025-26. About half of high schools surveyed have such a ban, while 90% of elementary and middle schools do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The study collected commentary from teachers, who describe the impact of cell phone bans on not only academics but also students\u2019 social well-being.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAs an educator, it is nice to see students interacting [and] socializing with each other face to face. It makes the lunchroom louder,\u201d one teacher wrote. Another noted, \u201cThe [bell-to-bell ban] is much better. We have fewer discipline problems related to phones, and students are more engaged in class\u2026they are learning to socialize again.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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