Frenchtown Schools are implementing stricter enforcement of cell phone policies this school year, formalizing rules that were previously in place but not clearly outlined in student handbooks.
The enhanced emphasis on limiting cell phone use is centered on improving student focus inside classrooms as the district begins the 2025 school year.
"We've always had a cell phone policy; now we've made some changes and some additions to the policy into the handbook," said Frenchtown Schools Superintendent Les Meyer.
The updated policies affect the Frenchtown elementary, middle and high schools, with varying restrictions by grade level.
Watch to learn more about the Frenchtown School District's cell phone policy:
"Cell phones are only allowed at certain times in middle school. They're really not allowed in high school. They can have their cell phones during lunch, but not during academics, and they need to be out of sight and off," explained Frenchtown Middle School teacher Julie Lucier.
Lucier supports the stronger emphasis on the policy this school year, citing the negative impact of social media on students' daily lives.
"It's so prevalent. What happens at night on social media can be really negative and affects their sleep, affects their ability to focus, their ability to go about their day and focus on normal tasks, so that does creep into our day," Lucier said. "But the fact that they can't engage online in social media while they're at school is so much better."
The main goal is to minimize distractions inside classrooms for students, according to school officials. Meyer acknowledged the district is working to find the right balance in enforcement.
"I think at one point we were probably too harsh on them. Now maybe we've been too loose on them and now we need to go back to the middle a little bit," Meyer said.
One challenging aspect of the policy involves emergency situations and whether restricting cell phone access could harm or help student safety.
"That's a tough question, actually. And here's the reason why. I'm a parent, I want to know. I want [immediately know] what is going on. Where are you? Are you safe?" Meyer said.
However, Meyer also noted that external communication could interfere with students following instructions during an emergency.
The schools are committed to evaluating the policy's effectiveness throughout the year.
"Maybe it needs to be more, maybe it needs to be less at the end of the year. I think we need to reflect on it, see what worked and see what didn't," Meyer said.
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