By Linda Conner Lambeck

WESTPORT — Cellphones are banned in Westport’s elementary schools, restricted to lockers in the middle schools and banned from classrooms at Staples High School.

On paper.

In practice, Supt. of Schools Thomas Scarice will be the first to admit the school district’s policy implemented two years ago on student-owned cellphones, smart watches and ear buds is impossible to strictly enforce.

Nevertheless, Scarice initiated a conversation with the Board of Education last week about potentially imposing even stricter rules on student-owned tech devices at school.

More support for restrictions

“I sense a growing desire by parents, particularly of younger children, to minimize, and even ban, the use of personal devices in the school setting,” said Scarice.

The superintendent said he has strong opinions on the topic, but did not spell them out last week. He did, however, call for more community input and discuss the possibility of a stricter ban on cellphones, particularly at the district’s two middle schools.

Scarice promised a written proposal next month.

Members of the school board seemed willing to have the conversation.

“I have yet to meet parents who wished they gave their kids a phone sooner,” said board member Jill Dillon. She called giving her daughter a phone when she was in the seventh grade “a terrible mistake.”

Holding her phone in her hand, Dillon walked through the steps anyone with an iPhone can take to monitor their child’s daily cell phone usage.

“I don’t have a healthy relationship with my phone,” admitted parent Tracy Brenner, a clinical psychologist, after walking through the steps on her phone.

Brenner told the board during public comment portion of the meeting that making schools truly cellphone free is not just a value judgment, but a decision based on health, safety and well-being of children.

The research is compelling, she said, that having a phone in school, feeling it vibrate in one’s pocket, is a distraction that takes away from learning.

State officials: Lock up phones

The impact of social media on children’s mental health and the distractions caused by the tech devices have prompted a re-assessment by education officials beyond Westport as well.

During his State of the State address this year, Gov. Ned Lamont suggested that smartphones be locked away during the school day.

In March, Lamont, Attorney General William Tong and Education Commissioner Charlene Russell-Tucker visited a middle school in Manchester where an experiment is underway to keep student cellphones locked in sealable “Yondr” pouches. The pouches prevent phones’ use until they are unlocked at the end of the school day.

Recently, Scarice said Westport school officials also met with officials from Yondr to explore the benefits of the pouches and the cost.

It cost Manchester about $30,000 for enough pouches for its middle school students, according to reports.

It is unclear what such a purchase would cost Westport, but Scarice said initially the cost could be covered by the district’s budget carryover account.

“It takes teachers out of the equation” of enforcement, the superintendent said of the devices.

Scarice said there is proven data about the addictive nature of cellphones, as well as the time it takes for students to refocus on a lesson when distracted by their phones.

“We just need to have the courage to act on it,” he said.

Different rules for different age levels

Board members seemed in general agreement that a policy on tech devices should be considered differently for elementary, middle and high school levels.

Most agree that the devices have no place in elementary schools.

At the middle school level, a case was also made for keeping phones at home. At the high school, not so much.

Staples students currently are not allowed to have phones in class, but can use them in hallways, study hall and the cafeteria.

Some students with disabilities even have allowances for earbud usage written into their Individual Education Plan.

Others say the ability to listen to music during a break in classes has a calming effect.

“I’m a student and like my phone,” said Calum Madigan, a Staples junior and student representative on the school board.

Madigan said not having a phone during an extended break in classes would be stressful.

“It is true it takes time to get back and focused on what you’re learning. You are not taking in as much information,” said Madigan. Still, he said he would be against a full ban on devices.

Anya Nair, fellow student representative, agreed. Her parents want her to have a phone so she can call in case of an emergency, she said.

Scarice said having phones during a crisis, such as a school lockdown, can actually compromise security for a number of reasons.

Lori Freemon, a parent of students at Coleytown Middle School, agreed. Cellphone usage during a crisis, she said, can lead to the spread of rumors, accelerate the arrival of parents, thus hindering emergency responders, or give away the location of students in hiding.

On the flip side, Freemon said, the lack of cellphones at middle school dances has changed behavior for the better.

At the high school level, board Vice Chair Dorie Hordon asked if cellphones are used academically. Perhaps, said Scarice, but added that they could be replaced by school technology.

Both Hordon and board Chair Lee Goldstein called for more feedback from the community, particularly parents.

Parents weigh in

Parents at last week’s board meeting had varied opinions.

Jodi Harris, a Staples PTA co-president, said most parents have no idea a discussion of cellphone use is underway and that she’s heard no support for a high school ban.

“Realistically, how do we prepare kids for the real world?” Harris said. “What about kids who actually need their phones.”

Michelle Carey-Moody, a Staples parent, said she likes the idea of reviewing cellphone use at the K-8 level, but called high school a totally different ballgame.

“Phones aren’t going anywhere,” added Elena Caggiano, another Staples parent. “Kids have to learn how to use them responsibly.”

Caggiano also questioned the value of expensive bags to lock away devices, calling it a potential operational nightmare. There are better ways to spend $54,000, she added, estimating what it might cost to supply schools with 1,800 Yondr pouches.

Lanie List, parent of a soon-to-be Bedford sixth grader, said a quick poll of parents at the middle school found support for sealing phones in pouches.

List said the board should also hear from teachers on the issue.

As for the experience in Manchester, so far, reports say the outright school day restriction has led to less drama, fewer incidents of cyber bullying and a restoration of privacy since students lose the ability to record images or audio with their phones.

With additional reporting by CTMirror.org.

_________________________________

Freelance writer Linda Conner Lambeck, a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications, is a member of the Education Writers Association.