Cell phones?

[Anonymous]

I imagine this has been much discussed but can folks bring me up to speed on cell phone policies in DCPS middle & high schools? We are in the Deal/Wilson feeder and it appears to me that kids are unrestricted in having phones with them in school, including during instruction time. Is it simply up to each principal, and then each teacher to monitor? Is there a history of these policies?

[Anonymous]

Elementary schools just haven't caught on and they have no way of dealing with it. I believe just about every middle school simply bans cell phones at this point. They stay in the locker, period. There are usually no lockers in elementary schools, so that's a problem to start with. Kids may not even want to leave their phones in their bag. So they carry them around in their pockets. I'd much rather principals just don't allow them. And if a child needs it - they really don't, I can't think of a single good reason - they could be stored in the front office.

[Anonymous]

People give their elementary school children phones? Really?

[Anonymous]

At Deal, they are banned during the school day and will be taken if seen. That doesn't stop some kids from sneaking peeks when they're at their locker but it keeps them out of class.

Wilson is much more lax with phone use and it is pretty much up to the teacher to police (with decidedly mixed results).

[Anonymous]

I teach at a DCPS high school.
Cell phones are the bane of my existence. In every class, there's at least 10 kids who have them out during my lessons. A few of them try to be sneaky and only do it when they think I'm not looking, but there are those who are so bold as to play music, watch videos, and even Facetime during class.

I've tried confiscating them, but I teach at a rough school where that is a surefire way to have a physical altercation. I've also dropped one or two in the past and been told by the school that I'm liable for any damage. IF (and that's a big 'if') I can flag down a behavior tech, then they'll take the phones. Ultimately, the administration tries to avoid it because they say it's a liability issue for them. They have no way to prove that the phone was damaged before confiscating it. The sad irony is that in my most recent observations, I was dinged by my principal and my master educator for the three or four kids who were on their phones during my lesson.

I tried to take the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" stance by incorporating cell phones into the lesson with different apps that require kids to vote on an answer. I was told that I was violating the "zero electronics policy" and had to stop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I teach at a DCPS high school.
Cell phones are the bane of my existence. In every class, there's at least 10 kids who have them out during my lessons. A few of them try to be sneaky and only do it when they think I'm not looking, but there are those who are so bold as to play music, watch videos, and even Facetime during class.

I've tried confiscating them, but I teach at a rough school where that is a surefire way to have a physical altercation. I've also dropped one or two in the past and been told by the school that I'm liable for any damage. IF (and that's a big 'if') I can flag down a behavior tech, then they'll take the phones. Ultimately, the administration tries to avoid it because they say it's a liability issue for them. They have no way to prove that the phone was damaged before confiscating it. The sad irony is that in my most recent observations, I was dinged by my principal and my master educator for the three or four kids who were on their phones during my lesson.

I tried to take the "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" stance by incorporating cell phones into the lesson with different apps that require kids to vote on an answer. I was told that I was violating the "zero electronics policy" and had to stop.

I think they are everywhere at the high school level.

My kid doesn't go to DCPS bit has shown me Snapchats from a couple of his friends at SWW who have recorded/posted them during class. Another friend at Ellington says they are used all day there.

OTOH weren't student and faculty cell phones used to tell administrators about the gun in the backpack situation a couple months ago at Wilson?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People give their elementary school children phones? Really?

Yes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:People give their elementary school children phones? Really?

A not insignificant number of kids in elementary school are walking/riding the bus alone to get to and from school. I totally understand parents wanting their kids to have a method of communication in case something goes awry in that situation. At my school students turn them in at the office when they arrive, then pick them up when they leave. Sure, there are some kids who don't turn them in when they're supposed to, but when they're found they're usually just sent to the office to turn them in.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People give their elementary school children phones? Really?

A not insignificant number of kids in elementary school are walking/riding the bus alone to get to and from school. I totally understand parents wanting their kids to have a method of communication in case something goes awry in that situation. At my school students turn them in at the office when they arrive, then pick them up when they leave. Sure, there are some kids who don't turn them in when they're supposed to, but when they're found they're usually just sent to the office to turn them in.

answer = flip phone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:People give their elementary school children phones? Really?

A not insignificant number of kids in elementary school are walking/riding the bus alone to get to and from school. I totally understand parents wanting their kids to have a method of communication in case something goes awry in that situation. At my school students turn them in at the office when they arrive, then pick them up when they leave. Sure, there are some kids who don't turn them in when they're supposed to, but when they're found they're usually just sent to the office to turn them in.

answer = flip phone

yes. no reason they need smartphones.

[Anonymous]

Precisely. In our family, phones don't come with Internet connection until high school and/or proven maturity. Completely ridiculous for teachers to have to compete with the world of stimulation on a smart phone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Precisely. In our family, phones don't come with Internet connection until high school and/or proven maturity. Completely ridiculous for teachers to have to compete with the world of stimulation on a smart phone.

Sadly that ship has passed at DCPS. When my high school did confiscate them, using a ticket system at the door, kids got smart and hid them in their underwear!! Parents also went to Rhee and complained, so now there is nothing teachers can do. They don't have a way to lock up phones safely in a classroom, are not legally allowed to remove something from a child's hand so unless they give them up voluntarily you're out of luck. Even then, if another students swipes it or knocks it off the desk the teacher is liable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Precisely. In our family, phones don't come with Internet connection until high school and/or proven maturity. Completely ridiculous for teachers to have to compete with the world of stimulation on a smart phone.

Sadly that ship has passed at DCPS. When my high school did confiscate them, using a ticket system at the door, kids got smart and hid them in their underwear!! Parents also went to Rhee and complained, so now there is nothing teachers can do. They don't have a way to lock up phones safely in a classroom, are not legally allowed to remove something from a child's hand so unless they give them up voluntarily you're out of luck. Even then, if another students swipes it or knocks it off the desk the teacher is liable.

Sigh. Makes me glad my kids are at a charter high school - no cell phones allowed for students except during lunch. I'm sure they sneak peeks during bathroom breaks etc but if a teacher spots a phone it is taken until the end of the day.