COMPARING PHONE POLICIES At the start of the 2022-23 school year, Richardson ISD implemented its districtwide cellphone-free environment policy and launched a pilot program using Yondr pouches at Forest Meadow Junior High.
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
districtwide solution,” Branum said. Yonder o ers its signature mag- netic bag for both live events and school districts looking to limit cell- phone use, according to Gustafson. In addition, she said the company conducts training for administrators on how to use the tool. According to a Yondr survey of the company’s over 900 school partners, 65% of schools saw an improvement in academic performance; 74% of schools saw an improvement in stu- dent behavior; and 83% of schools saw an improvement in student engagement in the classroom. The service is designed to be cus- tomized based on a campus assess- ment, aligning the program to what best ts the needs of each district, Gustafson said. “Schools are attempting to do a large-scale behavior change, so we o er the services to get them sup- ported with that in terms of support- ing them with policy and practice procedures,” Gustafson said. Under the guidelines of the RISD program, students are responsi- ble for taking care of their indi- vidual Yondr pouch. Students entering school are expected to put their phone in the pouch before clos- ing and locking it using a magnetic base at the entrance of the school. The students keep their phone on them throughout the day but are not able to open the pouch due to the magnetic lock. At dismissal, students will exit through the same entry doors and use the base to get access to their phones as they leave. The allotment of equipment, both pouches and unlocking stations, is based on the school’s setup. “We typically send one base for every 100 students leading to that exit point at any given time,” Gus- tafson said. Cellphone-free environment Both U.S. and foreign govern- ments have cited mental health as the main concern when focusing on limiting cellphone use among adolescents, according to Yondr o cials. “It has become the norm that stu- dents have cellphones at increas- ingly younger ages,” said Kevin Brown, executive director of the Texas Association of School Admin- istrators. “While there can be posi- tive uses of those phones, they can also be a major distraction in the classroom.” Most districts in the state have
During fall 2022, RISD collected feedback about the use of its cellphone- free environment policy, including an analysis of the Yondr pilot program and the extra enforcement policy. Do you have any concerns with the policy?
YONDR
DISTRICTWIDE
Yes No
DISTRICTWIDE
Parents can retrieve a student’s con scated device at any time, or students may retrieve their phone at the end of the school day. Authorized teachers and other employees can con scate cellphones or other electronic devices that are misused during the school day. Students are able to have cellphones during the school day as long as they do not use them during instructional time. Additional disciplinary action can be applied to students who have their phones con scated.
Students keep their Yondr pouches on them at all times. pouch. Pouches can only be opened with a Yondr device. As they enter school, students are required to secure their phone in a Every secondary student is responsible for taking care of a magnetic bag called a Yondr pouch that locks when it is closed. Pouches can be unlocked in case of an emergency.
Parent response
Student response
35%
57%
65%
43%
YONDR
Parent response
Student response
55%
56%
45%
44%
SOURCE: RICHARDSON ISD COMMUNITY IMPACT
CELLPHONE POLICIES GIVE TEACHERS MORE TIME According to a district survey, a majority of teachers using the Yondr system and those working with the updated districtwide policy said they have seen additional instructional time during their day.
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enforcement
of
cellphone-free
campuses.” Julia Gustafson, director of edu- cation partnerships for Yondr, said the program is meant to aid students in lessening cellphone use during the school day, adding administra- tors would likely allow a student to access their phone if needed and that the company works with schools to come up with speci c plans to accommodate students. RISD Trustee Megan Timme said during a Nov. 3 board meeting that the district’s cellphone-free policy helps achieve one of the district’s biggest goals: teacher retention. “Two things that [teachers] asked for was more [instructional] time and better discipline,” Timme said. Pilot program Branum said during an Aug. 11 board meeting the pilot program of the Yondr pouch system, which is costing the district $25,000, helps gauge how e ective the program could be districtwide. “The advantage of a pilot program is that it will allow RISD to gather more data to see how e ective the Yondr system is before investing in a
DISTRICTWIDE
YONDR*
7% added less than 5 minutes
8% other
9% added less than ve minutes
5% other
30% added between 5-10 minutes
55% added more than 10 minutes
24% added between 5-10 minutes
61% added more than 10 minutes
*PERCENTAGES DO NOT TOTAL 100% DUE TO ROUNDING.
SUCCESS OF YONDR SYSTEM IN OTHER DISTRICTS
Yondr has been implemented in over 900 school districts across the country as a tool to limit cellphone use among students.
65%
Saw an improvement in academic performance
74%
Saw an improvement in student behavior
83%
Saw an improvement in student engagement in the classroom
SOURCES: RICHARDSON ISD, YONDR COMMUNITY IMPACT
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COMMUNITYIMPACT.COM
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