WPHS restricts cell phone use to enhance academic performance
West Point High School Assistant Principal Natasha Richey says they have a designated area for cell phones in classrooms to cut down on potential distractions for students.
WEST POINT, Miss. (WCBI) – For many, cell phones are important for various aspects of day-to-day life, but they can also be distracting.
In California, Governor Gavin Newsom is urging schools to restrict cell phone use for students.
The idea has gained supporters across the country.
Governor Newsom argues that reduced cell phone use at school improves concentration, academic performance, and social skills.
Since the early 2000s, cell phones have become part of daily life.
While they can be a helpful tool, they can also interfere with academic performance.
West Point High School Assistant Principal Natasha Richey says they have a designated area for cell phones in classrooms to cut down on potential distractions for students.
“At the beginning of each class period, we ask our teachers to collect those cell phones, and the teachers will put them in a holder and those holders are numbered for each student. At the end of class, those phones are issued back out to those students.”
Richey says they started the phone pouches last year, and the results have been positive.
Discipline issues have gone down, and scores have gone up.
“Our students have actually gotten very used to it. It’s a norm now. Most teachers don’t have to ask students to put their cell phones up, they go ahead and put them in the cell phone holder.”
Teachers have seen how putting them away allows the students to focus on learning and have a more productive classroom experience.
U.S. History teacher Perry Price has seen the improvement first-hand in her classroom.
“Students, number one, are much less distracted. Their phone beeps or dings every 10 seconds. Without that vibration in their pocket, without that distraction there, they’re more locked in on what we’re doing in class, they’re more engaged, their grades have improved a lot, their test scores have improved a lot, classroom management is way better because you don’t have to say, ‘put your phone up, put your phone up.'”
And an open line of communication with parents is an important factor in this operation.
“We know that those cell phones can be a distraction, like social media usage and other things. With that being said, our parents are supportive of us having an instructional environment for our students.”
Richey says meeting with parents and keeping them informed has helped them ensure student safety in the process as well.
Richey says students are sometimes allowed to use their phones for research.
