KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
After banning cell phone use during school hours, La Mesa Junior High School families and staff have noted a marked improvement in the quality of students’ schoolwork and social life since the new policy was implemented.
The personal device ban includes not only cell phones, but also tablets, laptops, gaming devices, smartwatches and any device that connects to the internet or a cellular network, according to the official policy.
Students must have their cell phones, smartwatches and tablets turned off and put away once they walk through the front gates of the school. If not, and they are spotted by staff using their cell phones while on campus or in class, the phone is taken by staff, according to La Mesa Principal Michele Krantz.
Any parent needing to contact their child during school hours can do so by navigating the school’s call menu and pressing the number “2” as directed. Students can also contact their parents through the landlines available within school offices, or even within classrooms with special permission.
Krantz emphasized that the children still have access to their phones in an emergency, but that they want the children to be more concerned with their own safety, and not with updating the outside world during a life-threatening situation.
Photo courtesy of La Mesa Junior High School
“We want them to focus on keeping themselves safe if they have to evacuate or duck-and-cover. My daughter is a middle-schooler, and I would hope that in an emergency, that she would be more focused on keeping herself safe than on contacting me,” said Krantz. “It’s not about keeping them away from their parents.”
Krantz stated that although the 8th graders are struggling a bit due to them becoming used to last year’s looser policies, the 7th graders, who are still used to cell phone policies at elementary schools, have adjusted more easily.
“It’s not a punishment because some kids can’t use them properly, it’s to help them in building socialization skills,” said Krantz. “That’s what businesses look for, and we need to prepare them for college and career.”
Krantz also mentioned that the policy is an effort to protect students from exposure to inappropriate content, as it would be more difficult to spread through school campuses without the devices available.
“Some of the push-back for this idea was that kids should be able to use (devices) at brunch and lunch,” Krantz said. “All of our teachers greet kids at the door. Since we started, it’s a more positive experience. Instead of telling the kids, ‘Put away your phone, take out your headphones.’ It’s just a better way to start the class.”
Since the implementation of the policy, La Mesa Junior High teachers are reporting fewer bathroom breaks, shorter bathroom breaks and fewer classroom disruptions, according to Krantz.
“Some people are saying that phones are a reality, that we should be teaching the kids how to use them,” said Krantz. “That is not our job. It is our job to teach them how to act with others and to teach them the curriculum. I don’t want to take that away from parents.”
Overall, students have reported being “very happy” with the situation, as evidenced by the testimonials that Krantz and the teachers have been receiving, according to Krantz.
Photo courtesy of La Mesa Junior High School
“I walk around during brunch and lunch… They’re playing card games, board games… One kid wrote me a message on my story on Instagram: ‘I started playing basketball again,’” said Krantz. “They have made more friends. Teachers are telling me they have more kids coming into class every day saying, ‘I made new friends.’”
The William S. Hart Union High School District and Castaic Union School District has reacted favorably to the personal device policy, with Castaic Middle School following suit this semester.
“As a classroom teacher for 30 years, it’s one of the best things I’ve heard of in 20 years,” said Hart Board Member Trustee Linda Storli. “The whole idea of actually giving them the time to interact and develop social skills is fantastic.”
Storli stated that the reactions the program has received from parents so far have been overwhelmingly positive. Although some parents and students have been apprehensive about not having instant communication with one another that has become standard today, she stated that adjusting to not always having instant access can be important to mental health.
“I love technology, I love that Google can show you how to spell the name of someplace in Singapore that you have never been to,” said Storli. “But the fact is that I managed to get through several levels of education without cell phones.”
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FINALLY someone with a brain.. ALL schools should have a cell-phone ban.. At least during classes and at lunch so students can “interface-face-to-face” Keep up the Good work La Mesa!!
Bravo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Its about tiome kids get their face out of their phones and start enjoying being a kid
I used to attend this school back in ’05. We weren’t allowed to use our phones at all, either. Not sure why this is just now making news.
I will never understand why older people fear technology and think that they have the authority to determine what is and isn’t considered appropriate “usage of technology” or how kids should be socializing. You’re no one to say whether or not a child can use technology. No one.
Just because you didn’t have technology/cell phones/etc. when you were going through schooling, it doesn’t mean that the modern day generations should be forced to revert to the literal olden days. There is no real benefit to going back and doing things the hard way. Don’t force people into suffering just because you’re afraid of technological advancement and/or you don’t know how to use technology. It’s selfish and embarrassing.
Ellie you are the only one with a brain here! Thank you for being the only parent who actually understands from a kids perspective. As a kid who goes to La mesa it is literally always boring there. During brunch and lunch we would play games on the switch or battle each other in clash of clans or even play Minecraft together. Even if the phones were banned for “cyber bulling” kids can just cyberbully after school. in the end this is just torture for us kids and parents will never understand because they never grew up with it. This is just ruining the childhoods of many. So many missed opportunities to have so much fun at school and actually want to go to school when you wake up. Thank you La Mesa for making a prison.
Love, (Random kid that goes to La mesa)