MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The Monongalia County School System appears to have received positive feedback from students on the new cellphone-focused policy implemented for the 2024-25 school year.
Monongalia County Schools Director of Student Support Mike Ryan reported that students and staff have both openly expressed the benefits of having a “smartphone-free” policy as part of mid-year surveys taken by the school system. The surveys were taken by teachers and students from each of the 16 elementary, middle, and high schools in the county school system and included feedback on interactions in every aspect of school life that have seen noticeable differences since the policy was enacted at the start of the school year.
“We’ve been in schools these past few months just talking with teachers and students about how they’re feeling, and the teachers are saying the kids are more engaged in conflicts and they’re having less conflicts throughout the day,” said Ryan.
According to Davis, the Monongalia County School System reported the most feedback related to classroom interactions during a school day as the most notable benefit of the “smartphone-free” policy. Based on surveys from both students and teachers, the requirement of students to have their cellphones placed in sealable Yonder bags has resulted in more direct student-to-teacher interactions as well as a reported increase in student grades based on the first few months of the school year. While the level of noticeable feedback varied depending on grade level, Ryan stated that there was little to no negative reception to the policy within the school system.
“The students feel like they’re able to focus more, and one of the students told me that they feel like they’re getting more education throughout their day,” said Ryan.
Davis also noted that the most noticeable change in student and teacher interactions was found within Monongalia County high schools. Based on survey conversations and attendance of regular school days at both University High and Morgantown High, students and teachers were both found to have increased their ability to work on curriculum in a timely manner while increasing interactions outside of the classroom. This was found for both teachers with their students and students with their peers. While testing scores aren’t expected to be fully realized until the end of the 2024-25 school year, the “smartphone-free” policy has appeared to at least have made a significant effect on older students and their ability to interact during a regular day.
“Coming from University High (one day), and I was walking out when it was lunch, but it was loud, which is a good thing because the students are talking to each other and they’re not on their phones,” said Ryan. ”
You want the cafeteria, you want the classrooms to kind of have a little bit of noise to them, because that means they’re at least talking with each other,” he said.
The plan for the Monongalia County School System is to continue to gather more responses from students and teachers systemwide to determine if the “smartphone-free” policy will be continued on a long-term basis. The policy itself was implemented ahead of the start of the 2024-25 school year based on similar implementations in county school systems around the country, particularly in Ohio. As the school year begins to wrap up and final surveys are taken, Davis expects parents, students, teachers, and administrators alike to be pleasantly surprised by the feedback on having no cell phones active during the regular school day.
“I think that’s the positive that’s coming from this, is that our staff is making sure that they’re intentional about building a relationship with their students,” said Ryan. “And looking at how they’re doing it, to make sure that all students feel like they’re accepted,” he said.