DUNKIRK, N.Y. (WKBW) — Dunkirk schools have banned students from using cell phones during class, but it's not easily enforced and a rule that's often broken.
Educators have tried several ideas to get students to stop looking at their devices. The latest is a little pouch next to students' desks where they place their phones throughout instruction. While they've had some success, it hasn't been working well enough.
"Technology is amazing and can provide so many purposeful, exciting, and engaging learning opportunities for students. But I think we've got to know when to structure it," said Dunkirk High School Principal Josh Tedone. "When to have it out, when to put it away."
One idea Tedone and other Dunkirk educators support is using Yondr pouches, like at concerts.
Students would be required to put their phones into a special pouch and wouldn't be allowed to use them until the end of the day when the pouches would be unlocked.
Tedone said he had to use one at a recent Jack Black concert.
"You walked in and you put it in and you know what? It was a sense of relief," he explained.
The proposal, first reported by the Dunkirk Observer has not been approved yet. Tedone said it would cost about $37,000.
Renee Scott, the mother of a high school student, said she had some concerns about the ban.
"I don't like the fact that kids have phones in school. But I also like them to have it in case there is an emergency," she said.
Tedone said the district is working on a plan that would allow the teachers to unlock the pouches in the event of an emergency.
