The Carroll Community School District (CCSD) Board of Education reviewed and approved the updated personal device guidelines for the upcoming school year, prohibiting them from the classroom. Cellphones, headphones, and smartwatches are to be kept in lockers during the school day, with the students able to check them in between classes and at lunch. In the first offense, if a student is caught with a device, it will be removed by the classroom teacher and taken to the office. Board Member Jill Johnston asked if it was going to be too much on the classroom teacher to implement instruction while dealing with the infraction of a personal device. High School Principal Kourtney Abbotts agreed, saying the principals would be directed to come get the phone from the teacher.
The second offense is that the personal device will be stored in the office for the remainder of the day and the next consecutive school day, with a parent notified of the violation. Third offense, the student’s device will be in the office for a week, and a meeting will be scheduled with the parents to create an action plan. The fourth offense will require the student to check the device into the office every day for the semester and be assigned in-school suspension with parents being notified. Board member Jim Friel asked about cell phones needing to be used for medical purposes. Abbotts says they did not add that into the policy to avoid loopholes but did review all academic plans to ensure it was something that could be left out.
As this is a whole new procedure at the school, Abbotts says the first few days might see a lot of backlash from students, as she says there will be no warnings given.
Abbotts says teachers are one hundred percent behind this, and from what she has been seeing and hearing, parents are, too. She encourages parents to have a conversation with their kids before the first day of school to prepare the students and set clear expectations.
