In the aftermath of this morning’s Staples High School PTA executive board letter opposing superintendent of schools Thomas Scarice’s proposed cellphone ban — and a letter that followed from a Staples teacher, supporting it — a third group has weighed in.
A parent forwarded a petition being circulated around town. Headlined “Letter in Support of a Phone Free Environment at Staples,” and with nearly 400 comments, it says:
Dear Members of the Board of Education:
We write to you as a group of Westport public school parents who strongly support the superintendent’s recommendation for a bell-to-bell ban on smartphones at Staples High School.
Collectively, we have had thousands of hours of conversation in our community about how to ensure that Westport Public Schools continue to be exceptional places where our kids flourish, both academically and socially.
We have the benefit of data and experience from hundreds of other districts that have had an “away for the day” policy, including our own neighbors in Wilton and at Greens Farms Academy.
Greens Farms Academy bans cell phones.
Countries around the world are banning phones in schools and social media for minors. Twenty-three states have phone bans or restrictions on phones in schools. The evidence is overwhelmingly positive, and highly instructive to us in Westport. Westport should not be behind on this important public health measure.
The documented benefits include:
1. Enhanced focus in the classroom: By removing smart phones from the academic learning environment, students can more deeply engage with their teachers and with each other.
A 2023 study by the non-profit Common Sense Media found that students receive a median of 237 phone notifications a day, a quarter of them (nearly 60!) during school. I
In addition, research out of the University of Chicago confirms that even the mere presence of a cell phone reduces cognitive capacity.
Kids today have an average attention span of about 8 seconds (McSpadden, 2023). That’s less than it takes to read this paragraph. Here’s the science behind it: The brain adapts to what we feed it, and with digital media promoting quick-hit content, kids’ brains are rewiring to prioritize short bursts of engagement over deep focus.
Students’ brains are affected by cellphone use.
The good news is the brain is adaptable. With intentional habits, kids can strengthen their attention spans, reduce digital over-stimulation, and regain control over their focus. Taking phones away during school is ONE meaningful step towards helping this rewiring.
2. This policy is pro-teacher: Teachers are no longer in the position of “policing” phone use and can focus on their job as educators.
3. Social connection and mental health: Our phones are leading to a mental health crisis among teenagers worldwide, and early research points to the fact that the bell-to-bell policies are working. In schools that enact such a policy, educational outcomes and student mental health are improving, and bullying is down.
4. Cost-Benefit Analysis: While opponents of the ban at Staples have cited the cost, this is not a reason to allow phones in schools. School administrators are spending countless hours investigating incidents of bullying and unacceptable conduct using social media and other platforms. This measure, in schools that have enacted a similar policy, have seen dramatic reductions in the the number of incidents and in turn, a reduction in the cost of investigations.
As parents, we understand that many people want their kids to have phones at school so they can reach them in the event of a very rare and unlikely emergency. But it’s worth noting that safety experts disagree.
In addition, parents have voiced many concerns about logistics of implementing a phone ban at a large school such as Staples.
We agree that there are logistical concerns in making this happen. We acknowledge that there will be growing pains.Teachers and the administration will have to figure out other ways to teach, learn, and manage schedules. But these are issues for our school administrators to solve. Our entire generation of parents went to high school without a smartphone. It is doable. It is necessary.
It is time for our community to step up more meaningfully to help our kids live healthy, connected, engaged lives as learners and citizens in this increasingly dangerous digital age.
Thank you.
How in heaven did multiple generations of us grow up, get an education and manage our lives without cell phones??? I wish they would all go up in a puff of smoke.
In this contribution, health is mentioned several times. What about the constant exposure to the emissions of 5G “radiation” from a single phone, or the collective emission of an entire classroom of phones all day every day. Students have their phones in pockets near vital organs all day. The ban would remove that EMF effect for several hours, 5 days a week while in school.
With all due respect, Michael, EMF radiation encompasses almost all light, from radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light and so on. The students would not receive a break from any of that
Thank you ~ and I would absolutely sign the petition in support of a cell phone free school!
Dan – thank you for continuing to give daylight to this hugely important issue – any idea where the petition can be found so your readers who are so moved can add their signatures
Here is the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclV3TVUfl9BEPBvUP6klmJTbGcBkG0cZHwEmt82DcmLP8aeQ/viewform
What are we waiting for ‼️🇺🇸📲💣
Wholly agree!!! Thank you for taking the time to write this. The same people who want kids to have access to cellphones would likely be the ones who would say we must move with progress and that requires accepting scientific discoveries. Science on phone use is irrefutable. It’s like arguing 100 years that the opium in laudanum is OK, and it makes my baby sleep
Mobile phone use can easily be reauthorized.
Any relation to Sally Cowden, Staples 1965?
No stock market updates today Jack?
Trump buckled under the pressure and kicked the can down the road. I wouldn’t doubt that there was inside trading knowing there’d be some kind of rebound. He definitely “ blinked’ and got enormous pressure to halt the trading slide. Nothing good can come of this and I find it odd that Rand Paul and I are on the same page totally agreeing about this disastrous decision of tariffs!
Trump went on social media early and told everybody to BUY BUY! Then hours later, he put a halt on the tariffs causing the market to soar. Shows Wall Street can control the orange puppet. Even Bebe is yapping about the market with Trump while they are trying to stop a war. Dog and pony show with slipping ratings. The traders are on to his ass now as most of us are too. Grifter.
Bravo for phone bans in schools.
I’m all for it. I couldn’t imagine having a cell phone as a student. I would’ve been so distracted.
HI everyone,
The petition is here, and we have nearly 400 signatories. Please join us!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSclV3TVUfl9BEPBvUP6klmJTbGcBkG0cZHwEmt82DcmLP8aeQ/viewform?usp=sharing
No cell phones in school
This is the last survey question-
‘If you are NOT a Staples parent or teacher, what schools are your kids attending? (multiple answers are allowed)
Westport Elementary School (LLS, GFS, CES, KHS, SES)
Middle School (BMS or CMS)
Other’
Does this mean that only residents with kids in school can have an opinion on this matter…???
I agree phones away all day in some format, BUT kids do use their MAC computers to text scroll etc. I work in a HS and I sit where the kids sit. They are distracted!!!
So computers need supervision and closed during lectures.
Dan, perhaps you can share your experience at soccer camp without cell phones.