San Mateo High is gaining ample media attention today over its new policy requiring students to keep their phones locked up in pouches during the school day.
Starting this school year, the school’s roughly 1,700 students are required to place their phones in Yondre pouches at the start of the school day, which lock via a magnetic device. Students must hold onto the pouches at all times during the school day, and cannot retrieve their phones until after the last class ends.
“Our goal is to improve the climate and culture in our classrooms and on campus by eliminating cell phone distractions during instructional time,” school officials state in a policy document.
A pilot project involving a group of students preceded the school’s new policy.
According to this report by ABC7 News, teachers are noticing a difference, and some students have warmed up to the new policy.
The San Jose Mercury News reports that the program costs around $20,000 to purchase the pouches. Students who lose or damage them will have to pay $25.
Photo: Courtesy of San Mateo High Unified School District
