Sutton High School’s New Phone Policy

As of April 22, 2024, Sutton Highschool’s new phone policy is passed for next year. With that on the first day of the next year, the policy will be in effect. 

The policy calls for students to put their phones away in their bags during classes. If teachers see the phones, they have to take them and bring them to the office. The office will hold them until the end of the day when a parent can come pick the phone.

Cell phones are allowed during the advisory period, passing time between classes, and lunch, but it is enforced during spp. 

The issues that the students have expressed include, but are not limited to the following: the parental pick up, safety purposes, free time usage, and running club resources. Let’s elaborate… 

The parental pick up:

Many of the students wonder why students cannot pick up their own phones at the end of the day. Most parents work until long after school is over, creating an issue.

Safety purposes: 

Cell phones are a new way to communicate, and have been part of society since the turn of the century. They are a more efficient way to connect people. Although phones can be addictive, they can be reliable and a way for students to feel safe. Many students have anxiety about not being able to contact their loved ones in case of emergency, and having the reassurance of a personal piece of technology helps them. 

Free time usage: 

This new age of social media can be a scary thing, but it allows students to have more free expression. Many of the resources that students need to have for college are on mobile devices,  and they need to learn time management for college and this includes using their phones. My peers have confessed that technology has becomes a problem, but it is a problem that has to be addressed in the correct manner.  

Running club resources: 

In clubs, just like the newspaper, there is the usage of social media to promote the events/fundraiser/work that the students have made/set up. With free time, normally, students will post and have a positive light on social media through showcasing. This policy can create an issue with the time that students have to overachieve as it is less efficient with less features on the issued laptops provided.

Why this new policy could be good for the students…

The students will have an opportunity to socialize more with their peers when not being on technology. Students will be more focused on school work and less on other factors, increasing productivity. Many adults state that having technology is unnecessary as they grew up without it, which while true ignores the realities of our age.

One idea is that teachers will be able to teach more effectively, helping the students improve their grades and knowledge. Another is that students will behave better in class due to the lack of personal use of technology. 

Overall, this is a very mixed emotion policy that will affect the students. Whether, the issue is good or bad…well, that’s up to each individuals opinion.