Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 13:39     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:Cell phones are a nuisance for teens. It helps so much to make teens lock their phones up during school. My kids go to Banneker and both have admitted it’s been very helpful and really like it now. The dopamine hit is real and concerning.


Good for Banneker for doing this.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 12:40     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Seems like the kids who ignored the previous policy will also be just as likely to ignore this one. Not sure this does anything new.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 12:39     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is ridiculous. How are 1500 kids going to unlock phones at the end of the day? Dismissal will take 45 minutes to cycle everyone through.


Your child can get home faster if you don’t send them with a phone at all. Problem solved.


My child should be punished because other kids can't control themselves around their phones? Why? Why should she have to stand in a thundershower not knowing when the next bus is due because some other kid can't stop playing games during math class? Why should she have to miss a practice that was rescheduled last minute because she had to come home and then go straight back to school because she didn't get the message in time?


but she'll get it back at the end of the day and be able to access bus schedules or change plans then, right? Remember what we used to do BEFORE SMARTPHONES? We dealt with stuff. We're fine. Kids are NOT fine with phones (neither are adults, IMO, but that's a different story.) If it's a choice between my kid standing in a thundershower and decimating my their attention span, I know which one I'd pick.


The quote function is goofy -- this is a response to a person who suggests that the solution is to have kids not have phones at all.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 12:15     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is ridiculous. How are 1500 kids going to unlock phones at the end of the day? Dismissal will take 45 minutes to cycle everyone through.


Your child can get home faster if you don’t send them with a phone at all. Problem solved.


My child should be punished because other kids can't control themselves around their phones? Why? Why should she have to stand in a thundershower not knowing when the next bus is due because some other kid can't stop playing games during math class? Why should she have to miss a practice that was rescheduled last minute because she had to come home and then go straight back to school because she didn't get the message in time?


but she'll get it back at the end of the day and be able to access bus schedules or change plans then, right? Remember what we used to do BEFORE SMARTPHONES? We dealt with stuff. We're fine. Kids are NOT fine with phones (neither are adults, IMO, but that's a different story.) If it's a choice between my kid standing in a thundershower and decimating my their attention span, I know which one I'd pick.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 11:38     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Cell phones are a nuisance for teens. It helps so much to make teens lock their phones up during school. My kids go to Banneker and both have admitted it’s been very helpful and really like it now. The dopamine hit is real and concerning.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 11:12     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
I bet if your kid puts his phone in his backpack and never takes it out during the school day, they can skip using the yonder pouches.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 10:51     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do all DCPS students get to benefit from this new tech policy, or just the rich ones in W2 and W3?


Our W7 MS collects phones and puts them into little plastic pouches. I’m fine with this lower tech solution. The Yondr pouches will probably break or be opened by the kids - waste of money. But our school is much smaller than Deal.


Our school tells the students to keep their phones in the lockers. If the teacher sees one in class, the phone is confiscated and sent to the main office where the kid can pick it up at the end of the day.


And if a child doesn’t hand over the phone? This is why deal needs something more.


+1 this used to be the Deal policy and it didn't work in a middle school of 1400 kids.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 10:43     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do all DCPS students get to benefit from this new tech policy, or just the rich ones in W2 and W3?


Our W7 MS collects phones and puts them into little plastic pouches. I’m fine with this lower tech solution. The Yondr pouches will probably break or be opened by the kids - waste of money. But our school is much smaller than Deal.


Our school tells the students to keep their phones in the lockers. If the teacher sees one in class, the phone is confiscated and sent to the main office where the kid can pick it up at the end of the day.


And if a child doesn’t hand over the phone? This is why deal needs something more.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 10:04     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do all DCPS students get to benefit from this new tech policy, or just the rich ones in W2 and W3?


Our W7 MS collects phones and puts them into little plastic pouches. I’m fine with this lower tech solution. The Yondr pouches will probably break or be opened by the kids - waste of money. But our school is much smaller than Deal.


Our school tells the students to keep their phones in the lockers. If the teacher sees one in class, the phone is confiscated and sent to the main office where the kid can pick it up at the end of the day.


+1. I like this because if my kid really has something to tell me, he can text when he visits his locker between periods. But otherwise, no phone in class.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 10:03     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Do all DCPS students get to benefit from this new tech policy, or just the rich ones in W2 and W3?


Our W7 MS collects phones and puts them into little plastic pouches. I’m fine with this lower tech solution. The Yondr pouches will probably break or be opened by the kids - waste of money. But our school is much smaller than Deal.


Our school tells the students to keep their phones in the lockers. If the teacher sees one in class, the phone is confiscated and sent to the main office where the kid can pick it up at the end of the day.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 09:59     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
My child was cyber bullied at Deal.
A classmate videoed a situation and posted it on social media.
The child's phone was confiscated - but it did not matter as once the video is out there - it can not be taken down.
Kids at this age do not understand the consequences.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 09:37     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Schools also need some seriously tight oversight of web-connect devices in the classroom. DCPS laptops often have lists of blocked websites and blocked keywords that are too short and don't evolve as quickly as kids' workarounds. That requires manhours but it doesn’t make sense to leave that to each teacher. It could be monitored and updated a lot more dynamically and consistently at the whole school level with a dedicated staff.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 09:31     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is ridiculous. How are 1500 kids going to unlock phones at the end of the day? Dismissal will take 45 minutes to cycle everyone through.


Your child can get home faster if you don’t send them with a phone at all. Problem solved.


My child should be punished because other kids can't control themselves around their phones? Why? Why should she have to stand in a thundershower not knowing when the next bus is due because some other kid can't stop playing games during math class? Why should she have to miss a practice that was rescheduled last minute because she had to come home and then go straight back to school because she didn't get the message in time?

How ridiculous. Your child shouldn't be coordinating after-school activities while in math class. The phone will be waiting for your child before she heads to the bus stop. The scenario you describe is one of the reasons not to allow phones in class!
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 09:28     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:Do all DCPS students get to benefit from this new tech policy, or just the rich ones in W2 and W3?


Our W7 MS collects phones and puts them into little plastic pouches. I’m fine with this lower tech solution. The Yondr pouches will probably break or be opened by the kids - waste of money. But our school is much smaller than Deal.
Anonymous
Post 08/17/2023 09:21     Subject: Yondr Pouches at Deal
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I thought someone else would have posted this by now, but really? They're going to issue each kid a Yondr pouch, require daily use, and CONFISCATE phones for a whole term if not used? I can't even imagine how many kids are going to miss buses because they have to wait to unlock their pouch. This is what DCPS spends money on.


Don’t Deal students take metro/metrobus? If you miss one bus, you just take the next one.


Many Deal students take bus and metro. The most popular buses are the D31/D32/D33/D34. These buses leave Deal about 20 mins after school dismissal. Only one, the 34, runs a late route. The others run one time west in the AM and one time east in the PM. They do not circulate all day or even during rush hour like many other routes. So if you miss the bus, you can’t just take the next one.


How on Earth did kids manage without phones just a few years ago? Seriously, my kids went to Deal not too long ago and almost no one had phones before 8th grade. You kid will be fine.


Yes, I am aware, thanks. The above was posted to help the previous poster understand the public transportation options available to current Deal students now.