On May 20, the Wake County Public School Board of Education will vote on a new cellphone ban policy that would eliminate or severely restrict phone usage during school hours. Under the ban, students would be required to turn off and put away their phones, smartwatches, headphones and other wireless communication devices in a non-easily-accessible location for the entirety of the school day. If it gets passed, this policy will limit phone distractions and increase consistency in how cellphone policies are enforced throughout the county.

This year, Wakefield High School has employed its own policy regarding limitations on cellphone usage during school hours, allowing their use during breaks and non-instructional time but requiring that students either put their phone away or place it at the front of the classroom during the entirety of each class period. However, the main concern with this is the lack of consistency regarding cellphone restrictions amongst the different schools in Wake County. Under the current Wakefield policy, Assistant Principal Jameil Floyd and other administrators have worked tirelessly to ensure that students limit phone distractions during class, constantly thinking up new ways to alleviate the problem.

“We purchased the cellphone holders for teachers that prefer that method of cellphone compliance,” Floyd said. “The math department was the first to pilot the cellphone policy last year in the spring, which resulted in greater learning gains on the Math 1 and Math 3 End of Course Exams in comparison to the fall semester.”

While the cellphone holders work well for some, they are not always used consistently. If a cellphone ban were imposed by the School Board, however, there may be greater adherence to that method of limiting cellphone distractions. Under the proposed policy, students of all grade levels throughout the county, aside from those who have an individualized health plan or an emergency, would be required to keep their phones silenced and put away from the start of the school day to the end of it. One of the School Board members who has helped to plan and discuss the logistics of this policy is Dr. Wing Ng, the District 3 Representative. Ng finds the cellphone ban particularly beneficial because of the distractions cellphone usage brings during instructional time.

“I believe that a restriction on cellphone use will have a positive impact on students,” Ng said. “We as a society have been so used to instantaneous communication, and we have become dependent on this technology. We on the Board understand that at the high school level, many school assignments will require the use of this technology, and teachers can let students use it for that purpose in the classroom.”

While this policy may be beneficial in the long run for keeping students focused and engaged in lessons, it will also take some getting used to, both for the student body and for the teachers. Sophomore Gracie Winkle has conflicting feelings about what the ban would mean for the students of Wakefield. While she understands that phones can be a distraction, she recognizes that they hold some advantages too.

“I like having my phone because it helps me focus,” Winkle said. “Being able to put on music helps me to block out the extra noise, and if there’s a lot of noise everywhere, I can’t focus. When it comes to English [class], I like having the Audible [ebook] playing to help me follow along in my book so I can understand it better.”

If the ban goes into effect, benefits like these will be erased, and adjusting to that will take some time for all of Wakefield’s students. This policy will also change how teachers approach disciplinary procedures in regards to students using their phones during class. Science teacher Robyn Dembisky is currently instructing Anatomy and Physiology and AP Physics at Wakefield. In both of these challenging classes, Dembisky has noticed students can get easily distracted by their cellphones, and has had students put their phones in the front of the classroom during tests and quizzes. She feels as though the cellphone ban will help limit these distractions. 

“Sometimes, as a teacher, we feel like we’re competing with the phones, and the ban would help ensure that the students aren’t sneaking to be on their phones,” Dembisky said.

The School Board hopes if this new policy goes into effect, it will have a lasting positive impact on all Wake County schools for many years to come as society treads further into the digital age. 

“I am hoping that this [policy] will help foster a change in habits, so that students are engaged in meaningful conversations, actively talking and listening, rather than expressing themselves through emojis and abbreviations,” Ng said. “The art of communication is something that has to be developed through practice.”