By Linda Conner Lambeck 

WESTPORT–The school district intends to start a promised screentime audit this month.  Two out three components of it, anyway, while the third is being sent back to the drawing board.

To get what officials feel will be a balanced and accurate picture of the amount of time students use technology to further their education, the plan is to:

• review all curriculum and instructional practices related to screen time,
• analyze network usage patterns at the elementary and middle school level to measure how much time students are on devices, and
• survey parents, staff and students in class and at home on the amount of screen time by students.

Per school board policy, the student survey component requires approval by the school board.

At a meeting last week, board members had so many questions and suggested changes to the document that staff acknowledged they will have to go back to the firm that helped create the survey to get an acceptable questionnaire. The idea for the audit was introduced to the board at a meeting in December 2025.

Schools Superintendent Thomas Scarice called the survey a valuable component of the audit; the other two parts provide more concrete data.

The audit is planned as the district tries to reconcile a more deliberate use of AI in schools while at the same time banning student cell phones.

“This work is not intended to monitor or evaluate individual students or staff,’ Scarice said. “The purpose of the audit is to inform thoughtful decision-making about instructional balance, technology use, and student well-being.”

“The goal is to establish a baseline,” added Assistant Superintendent Anna Mahon. And to find a sweet spot between maximizing AI and minimizing screen time.

In addition to the other components, Mahon said there could be focus groups or interviews during the process to flesh out how technology is being used across grade levels and disciplines.

It is unclear how many devices are used systemwide. When the 2025-26 operating budget was presented in January 2025, the district reported having 12,100 devices such as laptops and tablets and more than 45 software applications. A similar census was not provided for this budget cycle.

The surveys

Developed by Hanover Research, the surveys were designed to take about 10 minutes to complete and would be taken anonymously. The plan was to give it to staff during an all-day professional development day on February 13.

Parents and students in grades three through 12 would have gotten their survey after the February break.

Assistant Superintendent Michael Rizzo said the questions, developed by Hanover, were revised based on feedback from school principals before coming to the board.

Still, Board Member Abby Tolan wondered why one question asked about cellphone use at school when they have been banned for all students since November.

Board Member Stephen Shackelford objected to questions related to home technology use not related to schoolwork–such as social media and gaming.

“It seems intrusive,” Shackelford said. Other board members agreed.

The survey asks parents how much time their kids spend online doing homework, their opinion on the ideal amount of time students should spend on technology and the impact they think using technology has on various aspects of their child’s educational experience.

There were also questions related to the type of devices students used at home, how many devices are at home, as well as demographic questions.

Board Vice Chair Dorie Hordon said those questions can come across as obnoxious.

“I don’t know why demographics are included in a survey about technology,” Hordon said.

“We will clean it up,” Rizzo responded to the feedback. He called it a good discussion.

Hordon also asked that a question be included on ways parents think technology might impede student learning.

Tolan said she has heard from parents who say their kids don’t know how to capitalize when writing because they are so used to having the computer do it for them.

Board Member Jill Dillon offered suggestions on how to make questions that are better at getting at the information the district wanted to know. She also wanted more options for parents to express if they were unsure and clarity for student questions that asked how much time in a week students spend online both in school and after. Is the question looking for aggregate or per class, she wondered.

“How would you interpret that question,” Board Chair Lee Goldstein asked Anwara Olasewere, a Staples junior and student representative to the board.

Olasewere said she would take the question to mean on average per class.

Goldstein said redoing the surveys should not slow down the other two components of the audit.

“We can make it work,” Goldstein said.

Linda Conner Lambeck

^{_{Linda Conner Lambeck covers education for Westport Journal. She was a reporter for more than four decades at the Connecticut Post and other Hearst publications. She has covered education throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. She is a proud member of the Education Writers Association.}}