Anonymous
Post 06/06/2025 11:45     Subject: Re:Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think it's interesting the middle schools will now NOT have them.

I have a kid in high school and the teachers do not enforce the cell phone away policy at all. My guess is this age group is more brazen about blowing off the rules so they are going to give them the pouches and don't want to buy more for middle school kids. But I think middle school kids have the least impulse control when it comes to phones.


MS rules are they have to be in your locker. According to my MS’ers they don’t see hardly any kids hiding them in class.


Keep writing your SB and the principal. The phone-free policy is mandated by VA DOE now, and every email is subject to FOIA and has to be retained. If enough emails accrue to demonstrate that the policy isn't being enforced, it creates a record of evidence that DOE can use. APS knows this, so if the pressure keeps up, they'll have to act, likely by expanding the pouches to MS as well.

Why would you want them to be in middle schools? The likelihood of my kid forgetting to unlock this pouch is so high. They have iPads and computers (which most of their instruction is given through). Phones are not the issue here.


I don't want them in high school either because my kid is also likely to forget to unlock it.
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2025 09:31     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Kids are already buying fake phones to put in the pouches. SMH.


I teach high school in another district. This is what usually happens. The fake phone is put away (in a pouch, front of the room, etc). The real phone is used at the seat and the students know teachers aren’t allowed to confiscate them.

Instead, we are told to simply create more engaging lessons so students won’t want their phones.

Yes, because quadratic equations are more interesting than TikTok.


Really? What about at APS?!
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2025 09:14     Subject: Re:Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think it's interesting the middle schools will now NOT have them.

I have a kid in high school and the teachers do not enforce the cell phone away policy at all. My guess is this age group is more brazen about blowing off the rules so they are going to give them the pouches and don't want to buy more for middle school kids. But I think middle school kids have the least impulse control when it comes to phones.


MS rules are they have to be in your locker. According to my MS’ers they don’t see hardly any kids hiding them in class.


Keep writing your SB and the principal. The phone-free policy is mandated by VA DOE now, and every email is subject to FOIA and has to be retained. If enough emails accrue to demonstrate that the policy isn't being enforced, it creates a record of evidence that DOE can use. APS knows this, so if the pressure keeps up, they'll have to act, likely by expanding the pouches to MS as well.

Why would you want them to be in middle schools? The likelihood of my kid forgetting to unlock this pouch is so high. They have iPads and computers (which most of their instruction is given through). Phones are not the issue here.

I don't think that's correct. All middle school kids have lockers so phones stay there for the day. That's easy and free. Not all high school kids are assigned lockers (there aren't enough) so they're using pouches.


Also MS do not have computers. They have iPads in APS. Which are owned by APS, meaning APS theoretically controls content and has full access to - unlike personal phones. Accessing inappropriate content on APS issued iPads happens of course; my kid reports at DHMS that kids watch YouTube throughout many classes. But, it’s a different degree of access with a phone. They are in kids pockets/hands, can be taken out and snap pics of other kids more easily, can be taken into (and out) in the bathroom, can more easily be hidden from a teacher, can be less easily accessed by a teacher since they are owned/locked by kids — as opposed to APS owned iPads. Prohibiting phone use is a step in the right direction.
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2025 08:34     Subject: Re:Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think it's interesting the middle schools will now NOT have them.

I have a kid in high school and the teachers do not enforce the cell phone away policy at all. My guess is this age group is more brazen about blowing off the rules so they are going to give them the pouches and don't want to buy more for middle school kids. But I think middle school kids have the least impulse control when it comes to phones.


MS rules are they have to be in your locker. According to my MS’ers they don’t see hardly any kids hiding them in class.


Keep writing your SB and the principal. The phone-free policy is mandated by VA DOE now, and every email is subject to FOIA and has to be retained. If enough emails accrue to demonstrate that the policy isn't being enforced, it creates a record of evidence that DOE can use. APS knows this, so if the pressure keeps up, they'll have to act, likely by expanding the pouches to MS as well.

Why would you want them to be in middle schools? The likelihood of my kid forgetting to unlock this pouch is so high. They have iPads and computers (which most of their instruction is given through). Phones are not the issue here.

I don't think that's correct. All middle school kids have lockers so phones stay there for the day. That's easy and free. Not all high school kids are assigned lockers (there aren't enough) so they're using pouches.
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2025 06:40     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:Kids are already buying fake phones to put in the pouches. SMH.


I teach high school in another district. This is what usually happens. The fake phone is put away (in a pouch, front of the room, etc). The real phone is used at the seat and the students know teachers aren’t allowed to confiscate them.

Instead, we are told to simply create more engaging lessons so students won’t want their phones.

Yes, because quadratic equations are more interesting than TikTok.
Anonymous
Post 06/06/2025 01:09     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:How much did this cost APS?

Asking parents if they agree with "phones away for the day" is not the same as asking if we're cool with a multimillion dumb phone pouch.


Many private and parochial school have phone-cubbies that lock after the first bell — coupled with strict phone violation policy where if you are seen with a phone out, your phone is confiscated until end of day and you always get detention. Long term of course, enough detentions and expulsion is on the table unlike public school.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2025 22:54     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

How much did this cost APS?

Asking parents if they agree with "phones away for the day" is not the same as asking if we're cool with a multimillion dumb phone pouch.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2025 21:23     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We need dedicated phone lockers. Away all day. If a phone is seen in school more than once by a student, confiscated and parents can pick it up on the following Monday morning, which means at least one weekend without a phone.


Or you can just keep the phone home and stop putting this all on the school to enforce. Be a parent. Set your own controls.


Exactly. Get back to me when your kid drives to school and an after school job, and it would be a huge safety issue not to have a phone.


I know the world has changed, but somehow 25 years ago we were able to drive to school and then work with no phone and it was totally fine.



Soooo tired of this line. Expectations were different then, too. My HS kid literally finds out his work schedule via his boss texting him. Sometimes there’s a schedule change to his sports or band that’s communicated after the school day starts, and I need to tell him to take the bus home after all, or whatever.

I’m not suggesting he should have a phone out in class, but yes “the world has changed.” There are good reasons for a HS kid to have a with them phone before/after school, and for emergencies. I am a proponent of away during class, but I think the pouches are a stupid waste of money. And yes, my kid is finishing up a school year of having the pouch, so my opinion is based on actual experience.


Yes, at the last class of the day they take their phones out of the pouch and check for the plans for the afternoon. I’m not exactly sure why you think it has to be just in time delivery of all changes to the schedule immediately.


I was responding to the person suggesting HS kids leave their phones at home.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2025 21:16     Subject: Re:Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:I think it's interesting the middle schools will now NOT have them.

I have a kid in high school and the teachers do not enforce the cell phone away policy at all. My guess is this age group is more brazen about blowing off the rules so they are going to give them the pouches and don't want to buy more for middle school kids. But I think middle school kids have the least impulse control when it comes to phones.


MS rules are they have to be in your locker. According to my MS’ers they don’t see hardly any kids hiding them in class.


Keep writing your SB and the principal. The phone-free policy is mandated by VA DOE now, and every email is subject to FOIA and has to be retained. If enough emails accrue to demonstrate that the policy isn't being enforced, it creates a record of evidence that DOE can use. APS knows this, so if the pressure keeps up, they'll have to act, likely by expanding the pouches to MS as well.

Why would you want them to be in middle schools? The likelihood of my kid forgetting to unlock this pouch is so high. They have iPads and computers (which most of their instruction is given through). Phones are not the issue here.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2025 20:06     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We need dedicated phone lockers. Away all day. If a phone is seen in school more than once by a student, confiscated and parents can pick it up on the following Monday morning, which means at least one weekend without a phone.


Or you can just keep the phone home and stop putting this all on the school to enforce. Be a parent. Set your own controls.


Exactly. Get back to me when your kid drives to school and an after school job, and it would be a huge safety issue not to have a phone.


I know the world has changed, but somehow 25 years ago we were able to drive to school and then work with no phone and it was totally fine.



Soooo tired of this line. Expectations were different then, too. My HS kid literally finds out his work schedule via his boss texting him. Sometimes there’s a schedule change to his sports or band that’s communicated after the school day starts, and I need to tell him to take the bus home after all, or whatever.

I’m not suggesting he should have a phone out in class, but yes “the world has changed.” There are good reasons for a HS kid to have a with them phone before/after school, and for emergencies. I am a proponent of away during class, but I think the pouches are a stupid waste of money. And yes, my kid is finishing up a school year of having the pouch, so my opinion is based on actual experience.


Yes, at the last class of the day they take their phones out of the pouch and check for the plans for the afternoon. I’m not exactly sure why you think it has to be just in time delivery of all changes to the schedule immediately.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2025 20:04     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

[twitter]
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We need dedicated phone lockers. Away all day. If a phone is seen in school more than once by a student, confiscated and parents can pick it up on the following Monday morning, which means at least one weekend without a phone.


Or you can just keep the phone home and stop putting this all on the school to enforce. Be a parent. Set your own controls.


Your child’s disruptive behavior because of their phone addiction is my problem. My kids phone is a brick at school anyways. But all day long there is some kid next to him playing videos which make it hard to focus. And lunch because a zombie apocalypse.


Sounds like your kid has some issues that you need to address if they are that bothered by what some other kids are doing. Parent your own kid.


When a trying to listen to a lecture or concentrate on a problem set, it’s perfectly reasonable to be distracted by flashing lights and loud sounds of an endless stream of TikTok’s.


no one has sound turned on, come on.


I have old person ears, and I can still hear the high frequencies leaking from people’s AirPods
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2025 20:01     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:Kids are already buying fake phones to put in the pouches. SMH.


Whatever, if a phone is found out of a pouch when it’s supposed to be in a pouch, it’s a clear violation and they’re confiscated. Before it could just be like oh I was getting my phone and putting on silent or some other nonsense.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2025 19:54     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:This is so dumb and such a waste of money. WHY is APS spending money on pouches and cutting library aides?


The research is so clear that phones in schools are bad - these pouches work, I am thrilled they are using them next year.


You sound brainwashed.


NP. The pouches work, and I’m glad they’re going to be in place at all high schools next year.


You have no idea what is actually happening. How old is your kid?


I’ve got teenagers in APS schools. Please, tell me more about what is actually happening that I’m apparently missing.

Anonymous
Post 06/05/2025 18:17     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:We need dedicated phone lockers. Away all day. If a phone is seen in school more than once by a student, confiscated and parents can pick it up on the following Monday morning, which means at least one weekend without a phone.


Or you can just keep the phone home and stop putting this all on the school to enforce. Be a parent. Set your own controls.


Exactly. Get back to me when your kid drives to school and an after school job, and it would be a huge safety issue not to have a phone.


I know the world has changed, but somehow 25 years ago we were able to drive to school and then work with no phone and it was totally fine.



Soooo tired of this line. Expectations were different then, too. My HS kid literally finds out his work schedule via his boss texting him. Sometimes there’s a schedule change to his sports or band that’s communicated after the school day starts, and I need to tell him to take the bus home after all, or whatever.

I’m not suggesting he should have a phone out in class, but yes “the world has changed.” There are good reasons for a HS kid to have a with them phone before/after school, and for emergencies. I am a proponent of away during class, but I think the pouches are a stupid waste of money. And yes, my kid is finishing up a school year of having the pouch, so my opinion is based on actual experience.


So glad my kid finished applying to college before this crap came out. All the college app stuff is online. APS makes kids use an online platform. It links to the Common App - also online. The world has changed, so it sucks to take away the tool kids need to access it.
Anonymous
Post 06/05/2025 17:31     Subject: Storage Pouches for APS High Schools

Kids are already buying fake phones to put in the pouches. SMH.