For the coming school year, McNary High School and two Keizer middle schools will adopt a new cellphone policy.

The schools will now use locked pouches to prevent cell phone distractions in the classroom. 

The policy is a part of the school district’s initiative to get “our students to be fully engaged in what’s happening academically,” said Deputy Superintendent Danielle Neves. “And to ensure that they’re getting everything they can out of school, both academically and socially.” 

In previous years, all Salem-Keizer middle schools barred cellphones during the day. High schools allowed cellphones during noninstructional times, such as lunch and passing periods.

Now, phone use will be completely prohibited at McNary, Whiteaker Middle School and Claggett Creek Middle School. Students will carry their phones in magnetic pouches, locked by administrators as they enter the school. The pouch will be unlocked as they leave.

The school will also forbid smartwatches, headphones, and other personal devices. Besides school-issued laptops, all devices must be stowed in the pouch.

Yondr, a company that specializes in creating phone-free environments, will provide schools with device pouches. 

The new policy mirrors an executive order recently issued by Gov. Tina Kotek, which prohibits the use of cell phones by students during the school day at all public schools. Neves said the district’s plan was already underway before the order. 

‘We did some surveys with the schools that implemented this last year … We had a range of 65% to 95% of our staff saying that overall, the classroom environment was more positive in relation to cellphones.’

– Danielle Neves, Salem-Keizer Schools deputy superintendent

“Research shows that personal electronic device use leads to negative impacts on young people’s mental health and self-esteem,” the order says, “with studies highlighting that adolescents spend more than 4 hours per day on social media with the highest frequency users reporting poor or very poor mental health.”

Schools that do not adopt Yondr pouches must introduce other measures for prohibiting cellphone use during instructional hours.

“That happens to align with the executive order, although this was already sort of the plan before the executive order came out,” Neves said. 

Last fall, six schools piloted the policy change, including Whiteaker. The principal and vice principal didn’t respond to requests for a comment despite contacting them through email and phone call.

“We did some surveys with the schools that implemented last year,” Neves said. “When we asked our staff…we had a range of 65% to 95% of our staff saying that overall, the classroom environment was more positive in relation to cellphones.” 

The schools reported better classroom engagement and fewer cellphone-related conflicts between staff and students. Students were also more sociable in class and during non-instructional times, administrators said. 

“The schools that are going to be starting their implementation will have opportunities for our families to come in, see how the pouches work, ask questions, and then the first few weeks of school, you’ll see the rollout,” Neves said.

“We became aware of Yondr and device management about a year ago,” McNary Principal Scott Gragg said. “McKay and West decided that they would try to pilot that program last spring. They did it and saw an immediate positive response back from staff members about the change.”

Gragg said that a majority of McNary’s behavioral problems stem from students disobeying device prohibitions during instruction. Before, teachers had to develop their own cellphone monitoring policy. This led to inconsistent practices from classroom to classroom.

“The level of predictability and consistency across the building is where we had some of the challenges,” Gragg said. “What I like about Yondr is that it’s predictable. The policy is now a school-wide policy…it allows that part of classroom management to be less burdensome for our teachers so that they can focus on instruction.” 

Aside from social and educational benefits, Gragg also pointed out that the new policy will prepare students for future work environments.

“Most fields frown on the use of personal technology at work,” he said. “I think it just models a pathway for readiness to be successful in life after high school. We’re hopeful and have seen in other districts that have implemented this a more engaged student.”

McNary will hold a community assembly about the pouches on Wednesday, Aug. 27, at 6 p.m. in the school’s auditorium, where parents can share their thoughts.

The $25 pouches will cost the school district $225,000 for the upcoming school year.

“It’s generally a one-time cost. There’s a little bit of cost we anticipate in the future when schools need to replenish,” Neves said.

The district will use its Student Investment Account funds, provided by the state, to cover the cost. 

Neves foresees concerns from parents who wish to keep in contact with their children. She said that classrooms have dedicated phones, so parents can reach their students by calling the front office. And, if students have a fair reason to need cellphone access, administrators can unlock the Yondr pouch. Parents can also email children through their student addresses.

“Those other safety layers are already built to ensure effective communication in an emergency,” Neves said.

As technology advances, the district remains cautious. But officials also welcome innovation.  

“There’s going to be continued acceleration in terms of technology,” she said. “We’ll be continuing to have those conversations, with each other, with the folks who are in our workforce partners, who understand what technology is going to be needed for the future. We are going to continue to get our students using whatever the new technology is that’s going to help them reach their goals.”

News tip? Contact reporter Riley Ellis: r[email protected].

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