Jim Crisfield, superintendent of the Wissahickon school district in Ambler, Pa., acknowledges that his district hasn鈥檛 exactly been an early adopter of student policies related to personal smart devices and their use on school grounds.
鈥淯ntil this past school year, we didn鈥檛 even have any reference [to cellphone use] in our handbook,鈥� said Crisfield.
Last year, the Pennsylvania district began using 鈥減hone hotels鈥� (devices to store cellphones) in the classrooms of its lone high school鈥攕tudents put their cellphones in the devices for class and pick them up once it鈥檚 done. The policy has worked well, cut down on distractions, and even earned high marks from students who welcomed a strategy that helped them cut down on their phone use, Crisfield said.
But the policy had an unintended consequence. Banning cellphones during class, but not elsewhere on campus, exacerbated what he refers to as a 鈥渃atchup鈥� period: students staring at their cellphones in hallways and other areas of the school.
In the ever-evolving technology landscape, students often seem to be at least one step ahead of the adults in the school buildings鈥攅specially when it involves the use of personal electronic devices.
Even now, as an increasing number of schools have begun to implement policies restricting cellphone use, it鈥檚 likely that students will continue to find ways to evade the rules and continue to connect digitally鈥攚ith friends, parents, and social media channels鈥攄uring the school day.
Among the likely candidates for cellphone policy workarounds? Smartwatches: portable devices that look and are worn like a wristwatch but that typically function via mobile apps and can connect to a personal device such as a smartphone. Despite the devices鈥� increasing popularity among students, many districts鈥� policies, including Wissahickon鈥檚, do not explicitly mention them.
However, some of the states that are considering or have enacted policies restricting cellphone use in schools have used language that extends to devices beyond cellphones. For instance, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb this spring signed into law a ban of 鈥渁ny portable wireless device鈥� during class time.
How popular are smartwatches among students?
When it comes to youths鈥� choice of personal electronic devices, smartphones continue to dominate. Ninety-five percent of teenagers ages 13 to 17 reported having access to a smartphone in 2023, according to a Pew Research Center . Just 13 percent of teens owned a smartwatch in 2021, according to the most recent data available from the Pew Research Center. But the devices seem to be growing in popularity among youth, according to anecdotes from educators as well as companies that track consumer trends on electronic device usage. , for instance, predicted recently that the child-targeted smartwatch market will increase by double digits annually鈥攎eaning that many more smartwatches will find their way onto the wrists of young consumers.
Yondr is ready. The company produces a popular brand of 鈥減ouches鈥� for cellphone storage and has more than doubled its presence in U.S. schools since 2022, with 2,000 schools now using them, according to company spokesperson Evie Solomon. Recently, Yondr began making only XL versions of its pouches鈥攍arge enough to accommodate both a cellphone and a smartwatch.
Investing in pouches for locking away cellphones鈥攁nd smartwatches?
It鈥檚 unclear exactly how many schools that invested in cellphone pouches purchased ones large enough to store a smartwatch, though Yondr estimated that those currently make up about 5 to 10 percent of its total pouch sales. But for those schools that didn鈥檛 get the bigger pouches, the cost of the upgrade likely won鈥檛 be feasible.
Yondr pouches, which zip up and lock with a separate magnetic device, cost districts an estimated $25 to $30 per student. Bethlehem School District in Delmar, N.Y., which bought Yondr pouches in 2023, spent $26,773 on the product for the 2023-24 school year, according to its . The investment included 1,400 pouches, distribution and training, related accessories, replacement pouches, and customer service for one school year.
Last November, U.S. legislators introduced a that would create a grant program for schools interested in creating mobile device-free environments that would cover the cost of cellphone pouches. But the legislation is still in early stages, and it鈥檚 unclear whether such a grant would pay for phone pouches equipped to contain smartwatches as well as cellphones.
If so, teachers likely would applaud the move鈥攅specially those who work in schools where families can afford to buy their kids smartwatches.
One 6th grade teacher, who works at a school in Kansas she described as predominantly affluent, said smartwatches have become an increasingly big problem in her classroom, as students who own them sneak out of class to go to the bathroom and text friends via their smartwatches. Cellphones, stored in students鈥� backpacks, are less accessible, she said.
The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of pushback from parents and others in the school community, said that most of her students who own smartwatches do so because their parents want to connect with their children during the school day. Her school鈥檚 cellphone policy does not address smartwatches鈥攄evices she estimated more than half of her students own and that she feels constitute a major distraction for about a quarter of the students who bring them to school.
By the time more school districts鈥� personal device policies broaden to include smartwatches, it鈥檚 possible that students will be exploring a new鈥攁nd as of yet, unidentified鈥攆orm of technology.
鈥淚 do know that students are smarter in terms of how they communicate and where they go online,鈥� said Crisfield, Wissahickon鈥檚 superintendent. 鈥淚鈥檓 incredibly curious about technology even though, back in the day, I actually had to call my friends on the phone.鈥�
