Growing number of SW Ohio school districts limiting students' access to cell phones

Students at Cincinnati Country Day School now phone-less during school hours

Students at Cincinnati Country Day School now phone-less during school hours

THE WAY FOR CELL PHONES IN CLASSROOMS. DO THEY BELONG? THAT’S THE QUESTION MANY LOCAL SCHOOLS ARE RESTRICTING THEIR USE, AND IF STUDENTS CAN EVEN HAVE THEM, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT? THANKS FOR JOINING US AT SIX. I’M MIKE DARDIS. GOOD EVENING TO YOU. I’M SHEREE PAOLELLO. YEAH. TECHNOLOGY SHOULD BENEFIT US, NOT RUN OUR LIVES. THAT’S THE MESSAGE ANYWAY, FROM OHIO’S LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR. AND HE SHARED THAT WITH LOCAL SCHOOL LEADERS TODAY. WLWT NEWS FIVE’S TODD -- LIVE FOR US WITH STEPS. SOME DISTRICTS ARE TAKING ALREADY TO REDUCE THE ACCESS KIDS HAVE TO MOBILE DEVICES WHILE THEY’RE AT SCHOOL. HI, TODD. HI, SHERRY AND MIKE. STOP GETTING SUCKED INTO THE SCROLL. THAT WAS ONE OF THE MORE COLORFUL PHRASES I HEARD DURING A GATHERING OF EDUCATORS TODAY. BY AND LARGE, THEY SAY WHEN STUDENTS USE CELL PHONES AT SCHOOL INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON THE LESSON AT HAND, GRADES DROP IN CASES OF BAD BEHAVIOR. GO UP. IT DEFINITELY WAS HARD. I MEAN, IT’S A DRASTIC CHANGE, LIKE HAVING IT IN MY BACK POCKET THE WHOLE DAY AND NOT HAVING THAT THERE. BUT YOU SLOWLY GET USED TO IT. AT CINCINNATI COUNTRY DAY, THERE’S A NEW POLICY REQUIRING STUDENTS TO HAND OVER THEIR PHONES DURING SCHOOL HOURS, AND IT’S BEEN A BIG SHIFT, BUT IT’S ALSO BEEN A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL SHIFT. ROB ZIMMERMAN IS HEAD OF SCHOOL AT COUNTRY DAY. HE SAYS LIMITING HIS STUDENTS ACCESS TO PHONES HAS CREATED A MORE ENGAGED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT. SENIOR CORBIN PARKER AGREES. IT’S ACTUALLY PRETTY FASCINATING TO SEE THE INCREASED NUMBER OF FACE TO FACE INTERACTIONS. AND YOU KNOW HOW HOW WELL PEOPLE INTERACT WITH EACH OTHER AND A GROWING NUMBER OF LOCAL DISTRICTS ARE EMBRACING CELL PHONE RESTRICTIONS, SAYING THEY LEAD TO BETTER GRADES AND FEWER DISCIPLINARY ISSUES. MOST PARENTS AND STUDENTS ARE SAYING, YEAH, SAVE US FROM OURSELVES ON THIS BECAUSE THIS IS JUST SO INTRUSIVE IN OUR LIVES. DURING A FORUM IN COLERAIN TODAY, OHIO’S LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR LISTENED AS LEADERS FROM SCHOOL DISTRICTS LIKE WEST CLERMONT, DEER PARK AND NORTHWEST LOCAL TALKED ABOUT THE IMPACT MINDLESS SOCIAL MEDIA SCROLLING HAS HAD ON STUDENTS. WE’RE JUST DISCOVERING THE HARMS THAT THAT THAT THESE CELL SMARTPHONES AND SOCIAL MEDIA APPS ARE DOING TO OUR KIDS. SO WE’RE NOW JUST IN THE LEARNING PHASES OF WHAT POLICIES WE NEED TO BUILD TO, TO IMPROVE THINGS. ISABEL RAMIREZ AT COUNTRY DAY SAYS DITCHING HER PHONE DURING THE DAY HAS BEEN A BREATH OF FRESH AIR. SO SOME OF MY FRIENDS AND I LIKE WILL HAVE MORE GENUINE CONVERSATIONS, LIKE FROM THE LUNCH TABLE, AND CARRY THAT TO WHEN WE’RE HANGING OUT. SO YEAH, IT’S BEEN GREAT. NOW, OF COURSE, ONE TOPIC THAT COMES UP WHENEVER YOU TALK ABOUT GETTING RID OF PHONES DURING THE SCHOOL DAY IS SAFETY. HERE’S AN INTERESTING TAKE ON THAT FRONT. THE HEAD OF SCHOOL AT CINCINNATI COUNTRY DAY TELLS ME THAT LOCAL POLICE AUTHORITIES HAVE TOLD HIM THAT PHONES IN THE HANDS OF TEENAGERS AND YOUNG PEOPLE DURING A CHAOTIC SITUATION CAN ACTUALLY HINDER SAFETY. IT CAN LEAD TO MISINFORMATION AS WELL AS CAUSING PARENTS TO RUSH TO SHOW UP AT A SCHOOL, GETTING IN THE WAY OF FIRST RESPONDERS. REPORTING LIVE TONIGHT, TO

Growing number of SW Ohio school districts limiting students' access to cell phones

Students at Cincinnati Country Day School now phone-less during school hours

Cincinnati Country Day students are getting used to a new policy that requires them to hand over their phones during school hours."It definitely was hard," senior Isabel Ramirez said. "It's a drastic change - like, having it in my back pocket the whole day and not having that (phone) there. But you slowly get used to it.""It's been a big shift," Rob Zimmerman said. "But it's also been a hugely successful shift."Zimmerman is head of school at Country Day. He said limiting his students' access to phones has created a more engaged learning environment.Senior Parker Corbin agrees."It's actually pretty fascinating to see the increased number of face-to-face interactions and know how well people interact with each other," Corbin said.A growing number of districts in Greater Cincinnati are embracing cell phone restrictions, with school leaders saying limitations — or even bans — lead to better grades and fewer disciplinary issues."Most parents and students are saying, 'Yes. Save us from ourselves on this because this is just so intrusive in our lives,'" Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.During a forum in Colerain Township on Monday, Husted listened as leaders from school districts like West Clermont, Deer Park and Northwest Local talked about the impact mindless social media scrolling has had on students."We're just discovering the harms that that these self smart phones and social media apps are doing to our kids," Husted said. "So we're now just in the learning phase of what policies we need to build to improve things."Back at Country Day, Isabel Ramirez said ditching her phone during the day has been a breath of fresh air."Some of my friends and I, like, will have more genuine conversations, like, from the lunch table and carry that too when we're hanging out," Ramirez said "So yeah, it's been great."One topic that comes up when talking about getting rid of phones during the school day is safety.The head of school at Cincinnati Country Day said local police experts have told him phones in the hands of students during a chaotic time can hinder safety and lead to misinformation. Phone communications can also causing parents to show up at school, getting in the way of first responders.

CINCINNATI —

Cincinnati Country Day students are getting used to a new policy that requires them to hand over their phones during school hours.

"It definitely was hard," senior Isabel Ramirez said. "It's a drastic change - like, having it in my back pocket the whole day and not having that (phone) there. But you slowly get used to it."

"It's been a big shift," Rob Zimmerman said. "But it's also been a hugely successful shift."

Zimmerman is head of school at Country Day. He said limiting his students' access to phones has created a more engaged learning environment.

Senior Parker Corbin agrees.

"It's actually pretty fascinating to see the increased number of face-to-face interactions and know how well people interact with each other," Corbin said.

A growing number of districts in Greater Cincinnati are embracing cell phone restrictions, with school leaders saying limitations — or even bans — lead to better grades and fewer disciplinary issues.

"Most parents and students are saying, 'Yes. Save us from ourselves on this because this is just so intrusive in our lives,'" Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted said.

During a forum in Colerain Township on Monday, Husted listened as leaders from school districts like West Clermont, Deer Park and Northwest Local talked about the impact mindless social media scrolling has had on students.

"We're just discovering the harms that that these self smart phones and social media apps are doing to our kids," Husted said. "So we're now just in the learning phase of what policies we need to build to improve things."

Back at Country Day, Isabel Ramirez said ditching her phone during the day has been a breath of fresh air.

"Some of my friends and I, like, will have more genuine conversations, like, from the lunch table and carry that too when we're hanging out," Ramirez said "So yeah, it's been great."

One topic that comes up when talking about getting rid of phones during the school day is safety.

The head of school at Cincinnati Country Day said local police experts have told him phones in the hands of students during a chaotic time can hinder safety and lead to misinformation. Phone communications can also causing parents to show up at school, getting in the way of first responders.

Growing number of SW Ohio school districts limiting students' access to cell phones

Students at Cincinnati Country Day School now phone-less during school hours

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