• Cell Phones in Education

    Update (12/20/2024): Beginning on January 6th, 2025, Washoe County School District is piloting the program "Phone Away, Learn Today" for all schools.  Here is a link to the policy. In keeping with that policy, NVHS has a three-strike rule on phones, headphones, and smart watches.  On the third (and any following) infraction, the device is confiscated by our Discipline Office for the school day.  With that being said, here is more background on cell phones in education that I wrote earlier in 2024.

     

    95% of teenagers have access to a smartphone, and over 60% of students admit to using their phones during classroom instructional time for non-educational purposes.  Many studies have been released over the last decade proving time and again that students are generally not mature enough to ignore the distraction that cell phones (in the form of texting, social media, or games) present.  Please read through the two key points below that will help your child be more successful in their educational environment.

     

    Parental Controls: Consider restricting the times when your student can access specific apps on their smart phones.  Parents/Guardians can "lock down" their student's smart phone to only allow them access to these distracting apps (such as SnapChat, Social Media, Games, etc.) OUTSIDE of the school day (8:00 - 3:15).  PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do this!!!!  Instructions are below:

    Mr. Grant's Cell Phone Policy: This year, Mr. Grant has the policy that cell phones will be checked into a lock box at the beginning of class.  Mr. Grant will lock the box and hang the key behind his desk.  If there is an emergency and Mr. Grant is not in the room, students can retrieve the key to gain access to their phones.  Otherwise, no phone access during class time is allowed.  The last five minutes of class, students will pick up their phones and Mr. Grant will ensure that every device is accounted for.  Here are the reasons for this policy

    1. Over the last 13 years of teaching, I have tried many policies from: regulate your own use, to "if I see it out, I ask you to put it away", etc.  None of those policies have been effective in curbing cell phone usage.  Additionally, if a cell phone is on a student's person, many teachers fight the battle of students using excuses such as "My parent is texting me and I have to respond" without having any way to quickly verify the truth of the statement. 
    2. Some parents have expressed concerns that they want to be able to contact their student in case of a Code Red emergency.  This is very sensible so under this year's policy, students will be in the same room as their phones, but will not be able to access their phones unless of an extreme emergency.  If parents need to get a message to their student during class, please call North Valleys High School at (775) 677 - 5499 and the office will transfer your phone call to my classroom OR will have a message delivered to the classroom.
    3. Public schools do have the autonomy to decide to "ban" all students phones from their campuses.  The precident was established in Price v. New York in 2008.  Traditionally, each state decides whether to enact a ban, or pass responsibility down to the specific school districts.  Nevada has no statewide policy, but Washoe County has now established the "Phone Away, Learn Today" policy.  North Valleys uses that policy as a guideline and enforces it accordingly.    
    4. There are MANY studies which prove that students who do not have access to their phone/devices during educational time show improvement in test scores and content retention.  Additionally, bullying decreases and cheating declines.  Here are several peer reviewed studies that support those claims:

    Thank you for supporting me in this endeavor to help your student succeed in school.  Please feel free to contact me at BGrant@WashoeSchools.net with any peer reviewed studies that support or deny the claims above, or if you believe I should add any additional relevant information.