It's a new school year, and at the Greece Central School District, there's a new policy: Students have to lock their phones up in bags.
The new policy took effect this week at six middle and high schools across the district. Students in grades 6 through 12 are required to keep their phones and electronics locked in what’s called a “Yondr pouch.”
Principal on Special Assignment Marc Fleming said the goal is to refocus students on learning and in-person socializing with their peers. It’s a matter of academic achievement and mental health, he said.
“I think what we learned from the pandemic and from our home learning is that while we tried to do our best, having students stare into a screen, not interact with others, is detrimental to their social well-being,” Fleming said.
While there have been concerns raised around student safety if they can’t access their phones in an emergency, Fleming said not using cell phones is actually part of the standard protocol during a lockdown.
“We engage students in lockdown drills four times a year, and we've been doing that for several years -- these are mandated drills from New York state,” Fleming said. “Part of the instructions that we give to students is to stay off of their cellphones, and that goes for staff as well.”
Fleming said that’s the case in part because they want streamlined communication between emergency response teams and people inside the building without disruptions.
That training was put to the test last Wednesday. On the first day of school, Odyssey High School went into lockdown around 7:45 a.m. when a cafeteria worker, Olga Martinez, allegedly pointed a gun at someone in the school parking lot.
Rochester Police said there had been an earlier traffic dispute on Mt. Read Blvd. involving Martinez and another driver. Martinez was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor; a spokesperson said last week that she is no longer employed by the district.
David Gottfried, whose daughter is in 11th grade at Odyssey, said since the no-phone policy wasn’t in place yet, she was able to text him as the lockdown was happening.
“She was worried but … she was in a classroom and was safe,” Gottfried said. “And then a little while later, I got a follow-up text from her saying that the lockdown had been lifted, everybody is fine.”
Gottfried said about an hour later, he received a phone call from the district with an update on the situation.
“I understand what the district is trying to do,” Gottfried said. “I don't doubt that there are a lot of problems associated with, you know, students and devices. But having those open lines of communications between students and parents, particularly in this day and age, I think is a worthwhile thing to maintain.”
The new policy has also been met with some criticism on social media. In a Facebook group for the Arcadia Middle and High schools, one woman called it a “cockamamie idea” that was “doomed from the get-go.”
Another criticized the sequence of consequences outlined in the policy if students do not follow the rule. After the second offense, students receive a one-day in-school suspension. After the fifth infraction, it’s an out-of-school suspension.
Fleming said the presence of smartphones has been highly disruptive, and the district has been clear with families and students about the consequences.
The proposal to use Yondr pouches in Greece schools was adopted by the school board in June with an estimated $98,000 price tag.
At the time, board president Sean McCabe said the policy would be re-examined on Dec. 15.
