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E-mail This StoryJon Vanderlaan
Staff Writer
During a May 19 Allen School Board meeting, several board member expressed concern that cell phone policies were not being enforced properly.
Members of the board said during the meeting that because of students’ abilities to conceal cell phones, even while using text-message features, it makes it more difficult for teachers to enforce the policy. Other members also said some teachers purposely do not enforce the policy as well as it should be.
Jayne Grimes, Place 1 trustee on the board, said while the policy is in place, teachers generally exercise discretion about students having cell phones in the classroom.
“Many teachers allow the students to use them,” Grimes said, adding that school policies may need to be revisited to align with actual practice.
Grimes was just one of the several board members who contributed to the conversation on amending the proposed student code of conduct for the 2008-2009 school year to either include more enforcement of cell phone rules or reflect the practical reality of parents wanting children to have cell phones.
Southlake Carroll’s cell phone policy was also discussed. According to the student code of conduct at the school, there is a provision to add a cell phone policy if administrators deem it necessary, but currently there is no policy banning cell phones.
The possibility of designating certain areas of the school for cell phone use, emergency contact reasons for cell phones and the effects of cell phones on an environment that is supposed to be conducive to learning were also discussed.
Steve Payne, principal of Allen High School, said he defends the teachers at the school because there is so much going on in the classroom and students are good at concealing their cell phone use.
“Teachers have a lot to do in the classroom. They have a lot of curriculum to cover, they have a lot of teaching to do, and the students have a lot of learning to do,” Payne said. “And the teacher’s main responsibility is teaching and learning.”
He said he does not believe teachers are purposely ignoring students’ cell phone use, but because students are able to text message without looking at their phone, it is much easier for them to hide it and harder for teachers to see what they are doing.
While Payne did not rule out the possibility of designated areas in the school for cell phone use, he said if it is not something that will benefit the learning experience of students he does not want to talk about it.
“If someone could convince me how it would add to student life, and how it would add to teaching and learning, and how it would add to academics and how it would add to student success in the classroom, I’m all for talking about things that help student achievement and student success,” Payne said. “I really would hate to see us spend a lot of time talking about things that don’t directly attribute themselves to student success and achievement.”
He also said in emergency cases, students should go to teachers instead of using their cell phones to contact family because of safety reasons if the student attempted to leave school. Parents should also call the front office instead of using student’s cell phones to contact them in an emergency.
Michael Novotny, the principal of Jasper High School in Plano, said the school takes up anywhere from one to eight cell phones per day.
Jasper High School, which has a similar policy to Allen High School, also has a pyramid-style punishment system in which the time a cell phone is confiscated for is longer each additional time it is confiscated, the longest being a minimum of three weeks.
“We actually also have a release form so that when a phone is confiscated, when they get it back, the student and the parent have to sign this form saying they understand the rules regarding it,” Novotny said. “It’s just making sure the rules are clearly communicated and that everyone understands them.”
He also said the teachers at the school are very consistent with the cell phone policy and confiscating cell phones when they see one.
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