Survey Says: Don’t Ban Cell Phones Now

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By Andrew Morin, Sanford High School Student

Sanford schools will keep their current cell phone policy for now following a review of survey responses on the subject by the School Committee at an Oct. 21 workshop. Students, parents and staff members see cell phones differently according to the survey, but there is consensus that a complete ban is not necessary.

The policy now requires cell phones to be on silent and in a designated area to avoid disruptions during class. It also restricts their use during school hours to hall passing time, lunch, the bus, or any other time where it may be beneficial to use them. Committee members decided to continue monitoring enforcement efforts, which didn’t really start until this school year.

The survey collected responses from about 1,500 students in the middle and high schools. The results were very supportive of the use of cellphones during school hours. Some students believed additional restrictions would be beneficial, but they were in the minority. The parent survey received about 970 responses. While most parents agree that students should be able to use their phones during school hours, many believe that there should be restrictions and that phones may have a negative influence on the students’ time in school. Some parents also said their children should have access to cell phones in case of emergencies.

About 180 staff members also responded. Many said they feel that cell phones have a negative impact on the learning environment and that more restrictions need to be considered. Though most staff respondents believe that there are negative impacts of cell phone use during school, only about half favored banning them entirely. Many felt that despite the negatives of cell phones in school, they can have academic benefits.

Some on the committee said they were concerned about the survey itself. For instance, students and staff gave conflicting estimates of how much time students spend on phones and how distracting they are. Also, some questioned the decision to combine the results of the middle and high responses instead of looking at each separately. Separate surveys for middle and high school students are possible in the future.