One look at an email can rob you of 15 minutes of focus. One call on your cell phone, one tweet, one instant message can destroy your schedule, forcing you to move meetings, or blow off really important things, like love, and friendship.
-Jacqueline Leo

So, after a few weeks of school with a new electronic devices policy, how’s it going? Over the summer, we decided to tighten and change our policies on phones and electronic devices in school. Although we had banned phones during the day for lower and middle school students in the past, we would now be stricter than previously, and students who chose to violate the policy would have their phones confiscated. In addition, phones would no longer be allowed before and after school or on outdoor education trips for lower and middle school students.

In the upper school, students would be required to place their phones aNond smart watches in a caddy when entering the classroom. This protocol for upper school students reflects that we allow sophomores and above to go off campus with parent permission, and we want to be able to contact our students at all times.

When we originally sent out the letter announcing the changes, I was ready for some pushback, because changes usually prompt disagreement and resistance. Frankly, I was both surprised and heartened when my inbox lit up immediately with unanimously positive, supportive, and appreciative comments.

I believe this reaction reflects a large-scale realization that social media, cellphones, and electronic devices are playing far too big a role in our children’s lives and are having a deleterious effect on them. At the ISAS Heads Conference in Santa Fe, NM this past June, heads of school talked about the book from social scientist Jonathan Haidt, “The Anxiety Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Children is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.” During breakout sessions, Heads of School shared how we are working to decrease the ubiquity of phones and smart watches in our schools. We collectively agreed that we are seeing a change in our students, and while phones are not the only cause for an increase in anxiety and depression, they are a significantly contributing factor.

Since school began this year, I have heard from a number of students and adults their thoughts on our new policies about personal electronic devices. Outside of some questions regarding how to contact middle school students in aftercare, the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. In an upper school math class when asked by the teacher what they wished their teacher knew, one student wrote, ”I appreciate the phone pocket because I’m less distracted.”

Seniors expressed their appreciation for our nuanced approach that recognizes the development differences of students ranging in age from 3 years old to senior year in high school. They said they thought the policy made sense. They also expressed concern for the ways younger students are so influenced by social media and in some ways losing their individuality as they feel the need to conform to the latest trend on Tik Tok.

Other students explained that the absence of phones in class “has allowed me to stop checking my phone so often and that’s been nice.” They said that change has not been as big of a deal as people thought it would be. “You just drop it in the pocket when you come into the classroom.”

We also decided this year to not allow lower and middle school students to take electronic devices on the Outdoor Ed trips. One of the chaperones, Assistant Head of Lower/Middle School Ms. Shotzberger said, “The 8th Grade Outdoor Education trip to Yellowstone National Park was truly a magical experience. From the colorful thermophiles to the tremendous views of the Grand Canyon and the peaceful tranquility of the lake, it was a trip to remember. Even more magnificent than the views though was the opportunity to witness our students experience the world around them without electronic devices. Our students were able to pick their heads up, find support from peers, get to know one another better, play games and just simply be kids. A couple of students even thanked the chaperones for removing the phones from the trip; commenting on how nice it was to see everything around them and the relief they felt not waiting for a text to come through. We are not naive enough to think that this will lead to a “phone-free” lifestyle for long BUT it was wonderful to hear and see them acknowledge that phones are not always needed and that some pretty incredible things and people can be found outside of those tiny screens.”

We even received affirmative responses from a flight attendant who accompanied our 8th grade students on their outdoor education trip to Yellowstone National Park. They told the Keystone chaperones that they were impressed with a group of students who were not on their phones and were so well behaved. The students were engaged in old-fashioned activities like talking with one another in person, playing games of “Would You Rather,” and one of my family’s favorites, gin rummy.

Some students have also told us that no longer having their phones during the day can help strengthen the relationship with their parents. One student said, “It’s so nice to not have 40 texts from my mom!” The day can also be less stressful for students as they won’t receive a text from their parents during the day about their latest grade on an assignment since the adult has checked Canvas while the student has been in classes. We know not being in constant contact with your children during the school day may be something new, but ultimately, it allows your children to continue developing their sense of agency and independence.

We understand that some of the support from parents stems from the school being “the bad guy,” and we’re ok playing that role. If we can partner with parents on this issue and many others, ultimately, the students benefit. Banning phones schoolwide prevents any one parent from being an outlier, and we’re happy to take this on at school.

We’re also aware that this is a work in progress, and there will be bumps along the way. We will get some things right, and we will make mistakes. That’s only natural and to be expected. In addition, we’re not pollyannaish. We see some high school students check their phones the minute class ends and they retrieve their phones. This shows vividly the addictive nature of these devices.

Nevertheless, we are committed to helping students break this addiction and realize that they don’t need to constantly be on their phones or counting “likes” to be a whole, healthy person. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with parents to help your children fulfill their potential and become the people they hope to be.