"We call them cellphones. They're not," Turn of River Assistant Principal Rafael Escobar didn't mince words when describing the challenges cellphones bring to the school's environment at a recent meeting at Turn of River Middle School between new Principal Mark Bonasera and parents.
"It's a computer, it's a movie theater, it's a calculator, it's a banking system, it is everything but a phone. The number of times kids pick it up to call someone is 1 percent of the time they have it," Escobar said.
School administrators are well aware of the lure of cellphones; they have begun discussing cracking down on phone usage for the upcoming school year, particularly during class time.
At all three high schools, custodians are mounting wall hangings inside all classrooms that include 30 numbered pockets for students to place their cellphones into during instructional time. At all public schools, principals are working on renewed policies to better delineate what happens if a student refuses to hand over a cellphone.
Escobar said managing cellphones at the school is "incredibly difficult."
He encouraged parents who want their child to have a phone to consider flip phones instead, as they don't come with the same options as smartphones. And if a student need to communicate with a parent, the phones will allow for calls and texts.
"We're going to work really hard to try to prevent the use of cellphones," he told the small audience of parents at the Turn of River discussion. "It's a challenge."
Managing phones in schools has become a major topic across the country. New York City schools are planning to ban them entirely next school year, an idea Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont has shown support for.
The Stamford Board of Education adopted a cellphone policy in summer 2022. It outlines when cell phones may be used by students in elementary, middle and high schools.
In simple terms, elementary students are only allowed to use a cell phone during dismissal; middle school students may access their devices at dismissal and during lunch. High school students have the most freedom, able to be on their cellphones during lunch, at dismissal and any time they are not in class.
At all three levels, cellphones are to be silenced and stored during instructional time unless students are given permission by a teacher or administrator.
However, the 2022 policy also gives individual schools autonomy on how to best enforce it. Multiple sources have said that cellphone use remains rampant in high schools and middle schools during times when students should have them stored away.
Kathleen Steinberg, spokesperson for the school district, wrote in an emailed message that building administrators at all Stamford schools are working this summer on standard protocols related to cellphones as well as consequences for students who do not comply.
The high schools will introduce a progressive discipline protocol for students who violate the policy. The Westhill High School protocol makes it clear that students must place their phones in the new storage pocket system.
"Students who refuse to so so may have their phones confiscated by administration until a parent or guardian retrieves them from their grade level assistant principal," reads a description of the new protocol to be shared with students under the title "If you use 'em you'll lose 'em."
Westhill Principal Michael Rinaldi said cellphone usage at the school has become an "incredible distraction" for students.
"The presence of cellphones have become so ubiquitous," he said.
The new policy maps out what could happen to a student who violates it. A first offense will result in a verbal and written warning to the student and the student's parent, a second offense will lead to the phone being confiscated by security and a third violation will mean the student's phone will stay at the school until the next day.
Subsequent violations could result in student suspension.
"I'm hopeful that what we've created at Westhill will help students to focus on their academics and be less distracted socially," Rinaldi said.
At Turn of River, many teachers reported student assaults during the most recent school year, which has caused building leaders to examine ways to improve school climate. In one instance, a student allegedly threw a phone at a teacher, an incident that led to a Stamford Police investigation and a student being issued a summons for breach of peace.
"We have a lot of thoughts about cellphones," Bonasera said in his introductory meeting with parents. "Cellphones are going to be a big part of climate work."
Matthew Laskowski, recently named the interim associate superintendent for middle schools, said he's working on creating a consistent cellphone protocol across all of the city's middle schools.
"We want a culture that when kids are inappropriately using their phones, there is a clear accountability measure that is then applied consistently no matter whether in classroom, hallway, cafeteria," he said. "That's what we need to get to."
©2024 The News-Times (Danbury, Conn.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
