BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Some schools are cracking down on cellphones in class this year but not all students, staff members and parents are on board. 7 News spoke with two different districts with very different cellphone policies.
Keith Boardman is the Principal of Williamsville South High school. He says the district took into account feedback from parents, students and teachers when making their cell phone policy and says, "Actually the feedback that we got was a lot of parents didn't want us to take away cell phones." The current policy in Williamsville allows students to use their cell phones during free periods and in the lunch room but in the classroom, it's up to the teacher.
Boardman says they incorporate lessons on the proper use of cell phones. He explains, "We've tried to put some information into our classes about how to use the cell phones properly. What is the proper use of cell phones knowing that when they leave here they're going to be using them out in the real world."
It's a different story in the Bolivar Richburg Central School District. Students are not allowed to have their cell phones throughout the school day. They have to be kept at home or secured in their lockers. The Superintendent says this is not a change in policy but a change in how they are enforcing the existing policy. He explains, "We had incidents where cheating was occurring , game playing, cyber-bullying and picture taking. It also feeds into our vaping situation where students would text each other to meet at a particular place and vape."
Mental Health Counselor Lynne Shine says if cell phones are allowed in school, it's important to closely monitor how kids are using them. because she says, "There are kids being bullied over the phone which is really something we've been watching for a long time with social media.....We are currently in suicide awareness month and we do see a huge uptick in suicides and many are attributing it to social media."
