What does “bell to bell phone free school” actually MEAN?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child’s high school has a “away for the day” policy. This means my kid has access to her phone all day at school, she texts me multiple times a day. They are all allowed to use them during lunch.
I looked up executive order 33 on VDOE and the description of the executive order does not match what our high school is doing.
Is everyone else finding this to be true in their high schools? If so, what do we do about it? How do we make them enforce the actual executive order?

Just an FYI, you can use your parent controls to cut off cell phone usage, including internet usage, for set hours during the school day on specific days of the week.

We used this feature liberally for our one kid who had difficulty staying off the phone during the school day, from middle school through sophomore year when maturity kicked in.

We only allowed contact with emergency numbers, parents and siblings.

Your ratio is 2 adults per 1 teenager.

The teachers' ratio is 1 teacher per 150 students.

The principal ratio is roughly 1 principal per 500 students.

Just as a numbers game, it is clear that the parents need to take accountability and set up some limits on the teenagers phone to help the teachers and principals enforce state law.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school, OP? Why haven't you told her to stop texting you?

Robinson is absolutely strict on it. No phones or airpods outside the 30 minutes of lunch, and then ONLY within the walls of the cafeteria. Use at any other time results in a referral with escalating consequences (detentions, saturday school, parent meetings, phone having to be checked in at the office each morning, etc)

I still write 3-5 referrals per week, but 95% of kids are following rules.

Langley. I have told her to stop but the bigger issue is that they all have access to them during the day, which is a distraction in and of itself. The school should be physically taking the phones at the beginning of the school day and not returning them until the end of the day.
-OP

Where is your parenting respinsibility?

Are you using the parent controls to turn off phone and internet usage during the day?

Are you giving logical consequences at home, such as taking away the phone when you see her breaking the school rules?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, there are no lockers at Langley.
Second of all, we are the most restrictive parents I know as far as technology goes! My daughter was the very last of her friends to get a phone at 13. She has zero social media and a one hour YouTube limit per day. My 11-year-old has no device. Please don’t start lecturing me about my parenting! My daughter thinks I’m a complete Nazi when it comes to regulating her phone use. She has to plug it in at 8pm every night well all her friends are up until midnight texting each other, she’s never allowed to use two sources of media at the same time (cannot watch TV while having her phone next to her). We have a lot more policies to control screen time that I will not continue to list, but trust me the parenting is not the problem. I would like schools to actually do their part since half of her day is away from me. I can tell her to put it away and don’t use it all I want, but when EVERY kid in the entire school is using their devices various times throughout the day and many teachers allow them to use them in class, it no longer seems like a “parenting issue” now does it?
—OP

Ok, those are some strange rules for a high school kid.

Of course she is breaking the rules when she is at school.

Get normal rules at home.

Shut off internet during the school day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:First of all, there are no lockers at Langley.
Second of all, we are the most restrictive parents I know as far as technology goes! My daughter was the very last of her friends to get a phone at 13. She has zero social media and a one hour YouTube limit per day. My 11-year-old has no device. Please don’t start lecturing me about my parenting! My daughter thinks I’m a complete Nazi when it comes to regulating her phone use. She has to plug it in at 8pm every night well all her friends are up until midnight texting each other, she’s never allowed to use two sources of media at the same time (cannot watch TV while having her phone next to her). We have a lot more policies to control screen time that I will not continue to list, but trust me the parenting is not the problem. I would like schools to actually do their part since half of her day is away from me. I can tell her to put it away and don’t use it all I want, but when EVERY kid in the entire school is using their devices various times throughout the day and many teachers allow them to use them in class, it no longer seems like a “parenting issue” now does it?
—OP

But she still has access to her phone during the school day.

My kid is in MS, but if she texted me during the day at her away-for-the-day school she'd not be taking the phone to school for a few days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This sounds very much like a parenting issue. Why is your child texting you multiple times a day? What is that all about? Why can't you tell her "keep your phone in your locker all day, you don't need it in class. You can text me at lunch or at dismissal."? Why can't you be an actual parent and have rules and consequences? Why are you trying to get the school to parent your child?

Nope.

My kid is following the rules.

Why should my kid and others get punished by the school because your kid won't follow the rules?

Those phones cost $1000-$2000 each.

No one wants the schools to take and be responsible for 2500+ cell phones at $1000.00+ a pop each day, for kids who will be living on their own at college very soon and who should be able to follow simple reasonable rules and regulate themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What school, OP? Why haven't you told her to stop texting you?

Robinson is absolutely strict on it. No phones or airpods outside the 30 minutes of lunch, and then ONLY within the walls of the cafeteria. Use at any other time results in a referral with escalating consequences (detentions, saturday school, parent meetings, phone having to be checked in at the office each morning, etc)

I still write 3-5 referrals per week, but 95% of kids are following rules.

Langley. I have told her to stop but the bigger issue is that they all have access to them during the day, which is a distraction in and of itself. The school should be physically taking the phones at the beginning of the school day and not returning them until the end of the day.
-OP

Just don't send her to school with a phone.
If you want her to be able to contact you before or after school, get an apple watch.
It's not the school's job to parent your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child’s high school has a “away for the day” policy. This means my kid has access to her phone all day at school, she texts me multiple times a day. They are all allowed to use them during lunch.
I looked up executive order 33 on VDOE and the description of the executive order does not match what our high school is doing.
Is everyone else finding this to be true in their high schools? If so, what do we do about it? How do we make them enforce the actual executive order?

The School Board voted to go against the actual EO to allow for lunch usage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My child’s high school has a “away for the day” policy. This means my kid has access to her phone all day at school, she texts me multiple times a day. They are all allowed to use them during lunch.
I looked up executive order 33 on VDOE and the description of the executive order does not match what our high school is doing.
Is everyone else finding this to be true in their high schools? If so, what do we do about it? How do we make them enforce the actual executive order?

The School Board voted to go against the actual EO to allow for lunch usage.

Wtf? Jonathan height makes the point over and over again that allowing them at lunch ruins social interactions. These kids need to be phone free for 7 hours straight.

[Anonymous]

Westfield HS is also strictly enforcing the cell phone ban. You should email the Langley principal to complain that some teachers are allowing cell phone use.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Westfield HS is also strictly enforcing the cell phone ban. You should email the Langley principal to complain that some teachers are allowing cell phone use.

Agreed. Those of us who are enforcing the ban are tired of teachers who don't. It makes it harder for everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My child’s high school has a “away for the day” policy. This means my kid has access to her phone all day at school, she texts me multiple times a day. They are all allowed to use them during lunch.
I looked up executive order 33 on VDOE and the description of the executive order does not match what our high school is doing.
Is everyone else finding this to be true in their high schools? If so, what do we do about it? How do we make them enforce the actual executive order?

WHY in the world is your teenager texting you multiple times a day? I never hear from my highschoolers except if I'm picking them up and its after the school event "when will you be here?" type message.

I can only imagine how much she is texting her friends if she is texting you that much.

I would actually get an ipad or old phone linked to her messaging accounts and get her messages in parallel in real time to keep an eye on her. As well as learn how to set parental controls.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD says the teachers don’t even have the same rules (some allow the phones, some don’t). All students are allowed to use them during lunch.
Should I go to administration and ask why they are not enforcing executive order 33?
-OP

Or...you can take their phone away...

Most of us are fine with the kids having access at lunch and I'd actually prefer the same for my middle schooler. If you hadn't already noticed, FCPS does not follow all of our MAGA governor's rules. Move to a different district if you don't like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DD says the teachers don’t even have the same rules (some allow the phones, some don’t). All students are allowed to use them during lunch.
Should I go to administration and ask why they are not enforcing executive order 33?
-OP

Or...you can take their phone away...

Most of us are fine with the kids having access at lunch and I'd actually prefer the same for my middle schooler. If you hadn't already noticed, FCPS does not follow all of our MAGA governor's rules. Move to a different district if you don't like it.

So I guess Jonathan Haidt is just a moron who doesn’t know what he’s talking about?
You’re the idiot who should move. Out of the country. Every school in our nation should be adopting his guidance.

[Anonymous]

We are at Langley and teachers are enforcing the no phone policy. The principal is strict about this so I don’t know how kids are sneaking to use phones.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sounds very much like a parenting issue. Why is your child texting you multiple times a day? What is that all about? Why can't you tell her "keep your phone in your locker all day, you don't need it in class. You can text me at lunch or at dismissal."? Why can't you be an actual parent and have rules and consequences? Why are you trying to get the school to parent your child?

Locker!!?? There are schools using lockers? Our school didn't have enough, so they literally removed a whole bunch of them

Excuses, excuses -- then she keeps it in her backpack.