IMPORTANT UPDATE: Chariho Introduces New Restriction on Cell Phones

By Cynthia Drummond for BRVCA
September 11th 2024

WOOD RIVER JUNCTION – Chariho will be rolling out a new cell phone procedure at the middle school and the Chariho Alternative Learning Academy later this fall. Students who have cell phones will be required to place them in  pouches that will be locked and later unlocked at the end of the school day.

Currently, students at the middle school are required to have their cell phones turned off and out of sight.

Superintendent of Schools Gina Picard said the change was approved following a state - mandated analysis of phone-related incidents in the school district.

“Every year, the state law requires us to do data dives into all kinds of discipline, academics, etcetera,” she said. “While we have seen a decrease in overall discipline referrals at the middle school, because we’ve really focused in on, and we have a lot of support for mental health, that doesn’t mean that we’re free from everything. What we have noticed, is most of it has a root in cell phone usage in areas that should have no cell phone use, like the bathrooms, and unsupervised areas, where students are looking for opportunities to use their cell phones in ways that are not constructive.”

The School Improvement Team will introduce and implement the new rules.

“It’s in the beginning stages, and that’s where they’ll sort of lay out the planning stages – when will the students have to start, how the teachers will be trained, and then there will be clear messaging to parents when it will start, and answer their  questions,” Picard said.

The Yondr Pouch

Later this Fall, middle school and CALA students will be required to carry their phones in “Yondr” pouches, which will be locked by their teachers until the end of the school day. The students will keep their assigned cases, taking them home and bringing them in the following day.

Currently, Yondr pouches are also used at concerts, to prevent people from recording the shows on their smart phones.

“Yondr pouches are pouches that the students will still have,” Picard said. “They hold them. We don’t collect them. We don’t take their cell phones. They put their cell phone in this pouch that they’re assigned to, they snap it closed. … And then, they put it in their pocket or their bag, or where they want to, but they can’t have access to it until the teacher swipes it with a magnet, and at the end of the day, [if] they don’t want to wait for a teacher, they simply swipe it against the magnet. The magnets get put up.”

The high school allows students to keep their phones, but they are only allowed to use them during passing time, which is the time between classes, and lunch period.

“As they get older, you want to teach them more independence,” Picard said. “Middle school’s a tougher age to be able to do that. So, we start slowly working toward that independence. … Middle school is not necessarily the appropriate time to give them too much leeway with cell phones, especially knowing the incidences that we know have happened.”

Picard described the incidents as “the back and forth, unkind words, things like that. Parents will also reach out and they’ll claim cyber bullying. What we’ve seen is, what happens at night trickles into the school day and we’re trying to avoid, as much as possible, distractions from instruction.”

The pouches are funded by a $31.500, state mental health grant from the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE).

“As a district with mental health grants, RIDE actually notified us, almost at the last day of school, that we would have access to these additional dollars,” Picard said. “It’s something that the teachers and administration have been requesting, so we met with the faculty prior to determining whether this was our next step and the faculty agreed, so we are in our planning stages now.”

Not all Chariho students have smart phones, but Picard said younger children are using them.

“They even have them in elementary schools now,” she said. “We’re seeing 4th-graders with them. 

How Do the Parents Feel?

Picard said that so far, parents’ reactions to the pouch protocol have been mostly positive.

Jessica Purcell, who represents Richmond on the Chariho School Committee, has a son entering the middle school this year. She supports the program, even though her son doesn’t have a cell phone.

 “Our plan is that he won’t have one until high school – or at least he won’t have a smart phone,” she said. “He might get a flip phone if he needs it or he’s spending time away from home more, but for right now, we’re five miles from the school. We’re very lucky.”

Purcell said she liked the concept of the Yondr pouches.

“Basically, it’s a way that would help us enforce the policy we  already have, which is, kids’ phones should be out of sight during instructional time,” she said.

At the recent 5th grade information session, Purcell said parents seemed to support the new procedure. She also noted that in an emergency, it would be safer to have students focused on their teachers and not on their phones.

“If there’s an emergency, I want everyone in that classroom focused on how they should be behaving in that emergency, reacting to the moment,” she said. “I don’t want a teacher  texting their kids. I don’t want the kids calling. That doesn’t help the true emergency. It just doesn’t. I think it gives people reassurance, but it’s not actually part of any safety protocol, … unless you’re calling to report something happening.”

Known Creative / CWD