Johnstown schools to prohibit cell phone use starting Jan. 27

JOHNSTOWN, N.Y. (NEWS10)-- The Greater Johnstown School District will be implementing a district-wide "Bell to Bell, No Cell" plan for all students, the district announced in December. The implementation will begin starting Monday, January 27.

According to Superintendent of Schools Dr. William Crankshaw, the current policy prohibits inappropriate use of cell phones or devices that could disrupt learning. That policy will stay in effect but with a stricter approach.

The new “Bell to Bell, No Cell” plan will now require students to store their cell phones, headphones, smartwatches, and tablets in their locker and leave them there until the end of the school day. Students will not be able to access them again until school dismisses.

Crankshaw said the district also intends to be more consistent with enforcing the policy, rather than leaving it to the staff to decide if usage is allowed. "There will be “no gray area” in the enforcement of the policy. All PEDs (personal electronic devices) must be turned off and locked away and are not to be seen or heard throughout the school day, even during study halls and lunch," he said.

"We want to teach our students to be good digital citizens, which includes knowing when it is appropriate to use cell phones and other technology," Crankshaw added. "Today’s teens have grown up in a digital world, which has unfortunately contributed to an overall deterioration in the mental health of our children. During the time they are in school, we want to take some of that stress away and give them every opportunity to focus on learning."

The district has discussed the issue of cell phone use in schools for almost a year, researching policies of nearby districts and policy effectiveness for districts that use YONDR pouches. The district has also consulted with New York State and gained input from a Shared Decision Making (SDM) ad hoc committee devoted to the topic.

According to the district, the SDM ad hoc committee included administrators, teachers and students and was facilitated by Knox Middle School principal Nicholas Snow and Johnstown High School Principal Scott Hale. The two will be overseeing the enforcement of the new policy in grades 8-12.

"Since COVID, there have been pretty clear signs that we would likely be heading in this direction," Hale said. "Cell phones make teaching and learning difficult because students are distracted and not focused on learning, and teachers are constantly telling students to put their phones away. They also create an antisocial atmosphere in our hallways and other gathering areas like the lunchroom. Students aren’t socializing with each other because they are too focused on their phones, and that’s not the kind of setting we want for our students."

When students return to school after Winter Break, Hale will meet with each individual grade to go over expectations and make sure students understand the possible consequences of non-compliance. Although students will not have their phones during the school day, parents will be able to contact their students, and vice versa, through district phones.

"We also want to assure our families that they will always be able to reach their child during the school day if there should ever be a family emergency — and vice versa — utilizing the phones in the main office at JHS," Hale added. "We realize that the district’s re-commitment to this policy will take some time to get used to, but we are confident that it is the right thing to do and that it will ultimately create a more socially conscious and digitally responsible student body."