At Shadow Ridge High School, phone use in the classroom has officially become a thing of the past. With new rules in place, students must now keep their phones in designated cell-blocking cases during class and are not allowed to use them in the hallways. The stricter policies aim to reduce distractions and improve academic focus, but the student body remains divided on their effectiveness.
The implementation of the new phone policies has brought noticeable changes to the daily rhythm of campus life. With phones tucked away during class time and restricted in the hallways, students are being encouraged to engage more with their surroundings and stay present in their learning environment.
“I feel like stricter phone policies limit distractions in the classroom, and allow students to focus more or what they should be learning,” Amber Smith, an anatomy teacher at Shadow Ridge stated.
Many staff members share this perspective, considering the positive impact on student engagement since the rules were introduced.
Angela Quitana, the school’s AP Secretary and Student Support and Health Officer, sees the policy as necessary but not foolproof.
“I see that it’s still being taken advantage of. I do see a lot of students with their cell phones out in the hallways and it does cause a lot of problems,” she said. “I work in the disciplinary part of it so when kids are fighting, it is because they were first texting back and forth.”
While school staff may be in favor of the policies, students are more skeptical.
“I think it’s pretty useless because they try so hard to enforce the rules and then give up halfway through or just don’t enforce the rules at all,” said Addie Christiansen, a junior at Shadow Ridge.
Others echo the same frustration.
“I don’t think they work. If a kid wants to have their phone, they will have their phone,” said Koda Thacker, a freshman.
Many students feel the rules are inconsistent and easy to work around, especially when teachers enforce them differently from one class to another.
Esmerelda Amador, the Sophomore Class President, agrees that inconsistency is part of the problem.
“They are getting more strict with the policies, but it’s the fact that they’re not being enforced all that much that it’s become such a problem. And it varies between each teacher,” stated Amador.
As Shadow Ridge moves forward with these rules, the tension between maintaining academic focus and managing realistic enforcement continues. Whether or not the new policies will stick, or evolve into something more effective, remains to be seen.
