{"id":2008242,"date":"2023-08-22T14:59:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T18:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-school-district-bans-cellphones-in-class-an-addiction\/"},"modified":"2023-08-22T15:00:40","modified_gmt":"2023-08-22T19:00:40","slug":"virginia-school-district-bans-cellphones-in-class-an-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-school-district-bans-cellphones-in-class-an-addiction\/","title":{"rendered":"Virginia school district prohibits cellphones in classrooms due to concerns of addiction."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fvirginia-school-district-bans-cellphones-in-class-an-addiction%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2008242&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>Charlottesville City\u200c Public Schools Implements Cellphone \u200cBan to Improve Learning and Mental Health<\/h2>\n<p>Charlottesville City Public Schools in \u200bVirginia is taking a bold step to enhance student learning and\u200d mental health by implementing \u2064a complete ban on cellphones. The new policy, known as &#8220;off and away the entire day,&#8221; aims to \u200celiminate\u2063 distractions and promote personal engagement among students.<\/p>\n<p>To ensure compliance with the ban, the school district is implementing several measures. Firstly, Wi-Fi access \u200cwill be \u2062limited to\u200c preapproved devices only. Additionally, disciplinary action \u200cwill be taken against students\u200d who fail to adhere to the policy. To render cellphones unusable,\u2062 students will be\u200b required to store their phones in Yondr\u200b pouches, provided by the district.<\/p>\n<p>The district\u2062 will bear the cost of $36,590 to provide \u2062these magnetic pouches\u200b to \u200cstudents. At the beginning of each day, students will be\u200c expected to place their phones in the pouches, which\u2062 will only be unlocked at the \u200dend of the day.<\/p>\n<h3>Addressing Phone Addiction and Improving Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<p>District Superintendent Royal Gurley \u2064has described child phone use\u2063 as \u200dan \u2064&#8221;addiction.&#8221; Numerous studies have\u200b shown that excessive screen time and access to social media\u2063 can negatively impact\u2064 learning\u2062 outcomes and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-pushes-for-20b-in-infrastructure-funding-to-go-to-electric-school-buses\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris pushes for B in infrastructure funding to go to electric school buses\">student mental health<\/a>. The district hopes that the new\u2062 policy\u200c will address these concerns and lead to improved academic \u200cperformance and well-being.<\/p>\n<p>Gurley emphasized\u200d the disruptive \u2064nature of cellphones in the\u2062 classroom during an information session for parents. &#8220;Our educators say \u2064cellphones are just a disruption to teaching and learning,&#8221; he stated.<\/p>\n<h3>Disciplinary\u200b Measures\u2062 and Parent Concerns<\/h3>\n<p>The district has\u200d established a two-tier disciplinary system\u2064 for noncompliance with \u200bthe cellphone ban. A first offense \u2062will \u200drequire students to hand \u200cin their phones\u2062 to the administration, with\u200b the option to \u2064retrieve them at the end of \u2062the day. A second offense will involve parents picking up the phone.<\/p>\n<p>However, if \u2063a student\u200b refuses to surrender their phone\u2062 or is caught using\u200c it inappropriately (e.g., bullying or \u2062filming fights), they may\u200b face \u200dfurther disciplinary action. In severe cases, students\u200b could be prohibited from bringing their phones \u200bonto\u200c school grounds for the\u200c remainder of the year.<\/p>\n<p>During \u200cthe initial month of\u200b the policy, \u2064instances \u200dof noncompliance will be recorded\u2063 as &#8220;student \u200dsupport&#8221; rather than\u2063 a \u2062&#8221;student referral,&#8221; according to the district&#8217;s guidelines.<\/p>\n<p>Teachers are also expected to lead by\u200b example \u2063and keep\u200d their phones away,\u200b fully engaging\u200b with their students. They will\u200b &#8220;model &#8216;off and away&#8217; and be fully present \u200cfor their students.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>However, not everyone\u2064 in Charlottesville is pleased with the \u200bnew policy. Some parents are expressing their concerns, particularly regarding safety. They argue that\u2062 cellphones are essential for communication \u200dduring emergency\u200d situations, such \u200cas <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/elon-musk-warns-austin-texas-to-avoid-becoming-a-san-francisco-copycat\/\" title=\"Elon Musk Warns Austin, Texas, to Avoid Becoming a 'San Francisco Copycat'\">active shooter scenarios<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>M.J. Smith, a parent\u2062 whose son is a senior in\u200d high school, believes the policy is too extreme. &#8220;It comes across as heavy-handed and\u2062 not well thought out\u200b in light of the active anxiety that the community is facing with another\u200d school year and \u200cactive \u2063shooter robocalls,&#8221; \u200dSmith expressed.<\/p>\n<p>Another parent,\u200d Sarah Norris, shared \u2063her experience of\u2064 deciding to get\u200c her son a \u200dcellphone after a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/virginia-school-district-bans-cellphones-in-class-an-addiction\/\" title=\"Virginia school district prohibits cellphones in classrooms due to concerns of addiction.\">false alarm active shooter lockdown<\/a>. She believes \u200dthat penalizing \u200dall students for the actions of\u200d a \u2064few \u200dis unfair and impractical.<\/p>\n<h3>Promoting Personal Engagement and Addressing Mental Health<\/h3>\n<p>The cellphone ban is part of an effort to encourage personal interaction \u2062among \u200dstudents and combat the growing \u2063mental health crisis.\u200b Excessive screen time has been linked to \u2063stunted emotional development \u2062in children. By reducing cellphone \u200cuse, \u2062the district aims\u200d to foster healthier relationships and emotional \u2062well-being.<\/p>\n<p>The \u2063policy will\u200b be implemented on Wednesday, coinciding with the first day of classes for the city.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Virginia&#8217;s Charlottesville City Public Schools is implementing a strict &#8220;off and away the entire day&#8221; policy by completely prohibiting cellphones for students. To enforce this rule, the district will restrict Wi-Fi access to approved devices, impose disciplinary measures, and mandate students to store their phones away.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2008243,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2008242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2008242"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2008242\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2008243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2008242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2008242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2008242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}