|
Cell Phone Policies As I mentioned in last month’s Principal’s Update - I plan on using the first four letters to further explain each of the four major changes I initiated prior to when the students walked through our door on day one. I feel it is appropriate to discuss the cell phone policies at this time. Elementary Policy The Elementary Policy calls for students in grade six or under to turn in their phone to their teacher prior to the official start of the day. The teachers are recording who turns in a phone and on what day via a log I created for them. They are also recording which students use their phone during their study period after lunch. This information is vital for me as the Principal to determine if the policy is relevant and benefits our students. So far, it appears to be working as expected. As I gathered the teacher’s logs and analyzed the data - it is evident that there is an increasing rate of phone possession and use from younger to older students. The sixth grade is turning in an average of twelve to fifteen phones per day. The main benefit for you, which I hope you have utilized, is the opportunity to contact your child via a voice mail or text message during the day. I know many of you do use mobile phone technology to keep the line of communication open with your child(ren). Why should you not have at least one opportunity to do the same throughout the school day? 7 - 12 Policy The junior high and secondary students in our building have been given a unique (at least to the Upper Midwest) privilege. These students have the right to use their cell phone in-between classes and at lunch. In return, the students must honor the expectation and rule that the phones should never be in the classrooms. There is a very good reason for not possessing the phones in the actual classrooms. Our teachers need to be confident that students do not have the phones in their rooms so they can concentrate on teaching. There are countless stories about students videotaping teachers disciplining students or using their mobile phone technologies in other distracting and inappropriate ways. I am sure many of you would not appreciate being video-taped while doing your job, especially in a time of distress or frustration. The bottom line is our teachers work very hard to increase the achievement of each and every student in our building - they do not need to, nor should they have to, worry about a student with a cell phone in the classroom. If you, as parents, support these policies and reinforce my expectations regarding the cell phones and the students respect the rules that supplement the privilege - we, in-turn, will set the foundation to expand the role of mobile phone technology as an integral part of the education of your child(ren). As most of you know - the rapidly growing capabilities of cell phone technology is already changing many of our current jobs/careers. If this does not affect you, ask any individual in law enforcement, sales, investment banking, construction management, heck, even the last doctor’s appointment I had called for my doctor to spend a significant portion of time looking up information on his smart phone. I personally cannot imagine running a school and trying to keep this building as safe as possible for our students without a cell phone. What is more, the jobs and careers our students need to be educated and prepared for will require technologies that have not even been invented yet - the least we can do is to use the ones that have. Thank you for your time and feel free to contact me regarding this information, Matthew A. Spets, PreK-12 Principal
|
