NAMPA, Idaho — The Vallivue School District instituted a cell phone ban from the 2024-2025 school year. Students, administrators, and teachers are noticing positive changes
- It's not just the phones either, it's smart watches, AirPods, anything that can receive a notification.
- There are exceptions for some students who receive notifications for health reasons, such as glucose monitors.
- Students are using digital cameras to capture memories without their phones.
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
"What percentage, if you will, from your anecdotal evidence, have you heard 'thank you' and also, 'what the heck?'" I asked of Vallivue School District's Assistant Superintendent Joey Palmer about the cell phone ban beginning this year.
Palmer tells me, "I would say 80% of parents have been, why haven't you done this years ago? What took you so long?"
So far, no big complaints in the Vallivue School District where starting this school year, cell phones were barred from classrooms, hallways, and cafeterias from the first bell to the last. It's not just the phones either, it's smart watches, AirPods, anything that can receive a notification.
"Our students came in respectful of the new policy," says Ridgevue principal Robert Gwyn, "even though there were concerns presented by families initially. But, I would say that we're beginning to look at maybe by class which ones we're having more of a focus on."
"The reports from teachers in classroom engagement has been much higher. And so we're seeing more and more students still willing to participate, paying attention, better grade results, you know, things like that," Gwyn describes.
I sat down with three students who also had positive thoughts on how their classmates have evolved without the fear of missing out.
"Like, you brought a FOMO. Like, I definitely was like, it's my senior year. I don't have my phone. But I feel like this generation is kind of, like, taking that into their own hands," 12th grader Bonnie Ogunrinola says.
Taking it into their own hands, by going old school. Well, mid-2000s old school by bringing digital cameras to capture memories.
"How are group projects now?" I asked.
"Well, group projects usually tend to be when we had our phones, like one to two people working on it if it's a group of four or five." says 10th grader Drake Pulic, "But now if it's a group of four or five, everybody's working on it because they don't get a distraction from their phone."
From school work to campus environment, students are noticing changes with new opportunities.
"I wouldn't, like there's some people like here that I wouldn't think like I would ever like talk to. But like since we haven't had phones and stuff like that, it's been like a really social place aand people are really nice and you wouldn't like expect it," 12th grader Jayden Nielsen said.
There are exceptions for some students who receive notifications for health reasons, such as glucose monitors.
