What’s happening?
The district is currently contemplating whether they should implement an “away for the day” policy, in which phones must be out of sight for the entire school day, including during lunch and in-between class periods, or investing in YONDR pouches, which are magnetic lockable phone pouches.
YONDR pouches can be unlocked through a magnetic unlocking device, according to the business’s website.
If the district chooses to invest in the pouches, unlocking stations will be created on campuses, and portable unlocking devices will be given to coaches and extracurricular staff members for students that participate in sports, clubs or after school events, said Kim Cole, FISD’s assistant superintendent of secondary teaching and learning.
Currently, cellphone use is prohibited during the instructional day at FISD unless a teacher permits their usage, officials said.
Once a cellphone is confiscated, the teacher turns the phone into the school principal’s office. The principal then determines whether to return it to the student at the end of the school day or to contact the parents to pick up the device, according to the FISD student handbook.
How we got here
A team of district officials, led by Cole, began researching the impact of social media and cellphones in the fall and have been looking to implement a more robust cellphone policy since.
After the team collected data from 40 comparison schools in Texas, they gathered input from four other Texas school districts who had "away for a day" policies, and two of them required students to use YONDR pouches.
At the board’s March meeting, Cole presented a survey from the district’s Think Tank, which consists of 24 FISD members, made up of counselors, administrators, students, parents and teachers from each campus, according to district documents.
The survey asked respondents if they would prefer the district’s current policy, an “away for the day” policy or an “away for the day” policy with YONDR pouches.
If the district moves forward with implementing YONDR pouches, it will be a $105,000-$125,000 investment to purchase pouches for sixth through 12th grade.
The second year and beyond will cost $15,000-$18,000 for an annual refresh, as incoming sixth graders will need to receive pouches, Cole said.
While it is not certain that YONDR pouches are the direction the district will go, Cole said YONDR pouches would benefit campus administration and teachers by giving them more time to teach rather than spend a large amount of time confiscating phones.
“I think that what it comes down to ... is the number of phones that you would be dealing with,” Cole said. “If they're in a pouch ... you're going to have an increased amount
of compliance ... [and] the impossibility of sneaking it out.”
Their thoughts
While board President Tony Hopkins told Community Impact April 15 he supports possibly implementing YONDR pouches in FISD, he said the board and officials are taking their time to figure out the advantages and disadvantages of the two possible options for the upcoming school year.
“I'm definitely on the side of YONDR pouches at this point,” Hopkins said. “I think it gives us the best chance for success in enforcing that policy, and I think it would be the best thing for students and for our employees.”
Board trustee Beau Egert said at the meeting he is “questionable on YONDR pouches,” but he’s open to investing over $120,000 on them if they’re proven to be effective.
“What I'm looking for is an enforcement policy that takes the burden off teachers. I'm not sure YONDR pouches are the one. There might be other ways,” Egert said. “... But I think this is a major problem that in years from now, we'll look back and we're going to say, ‘Why didn't we do something sooner?’”
Kristen DeLeon, an FISD parent, spoke out of concern for the potential new policy at the board’s public forum.
“While I do fully support the efforts to reduce classroom distractions, I do have concerns about the potential purchase of YONDR pouches at the cost of over $125,000, especially given the repeated reminders as parents that we receive about the district's tight budget," she said. "From the outside, this feels like an expensive solution that has not been fully explored for feasibility or alternatives.”
Stay tuned
District officials will further discuss the new cellphone policy, and will potentially finalize the new policy by May.
