No cellphones for Penn Hills School District students next year

Starting in the 2022-23 school year, Penn Hills School District students will have their cellphone and any other communication devices stored away during the school day.

Penn Hills High School Principal Eric Kostic made the announcement in a Facebook post on May 5.

On April 26, the school board approved the purchase of Yondr pouches to store and lock phones.

Superintendent Nancy Hines said the administration has been researching the pouch for four years. She said the product has been used at larger social events such as concerts to prevent images or videos from leaking to people who are not attending the event.

“I would much prefer to teach our students how to handle various freedoms versus restrict them. However, it seems clear that both students and teachers need more support,” Hines said.

The district did a pilot of the policy at Linton Middle School this school year. Hines said students’ electronics were locked in special boxes instead of pouches. The units were placed in each homeroom. Students checked in their devices at the start of school and retrieved them from homeroom at the end of the day, she said.

“While we cannot measure the exact impact of giving our middle school students a break from their personal devices during the school day, student engagement and school culture seem to have been impacted in a very positive way,” Hines said.

Before entering school and before student ID check, the students’ cellphone and any other communication device, including smartwatches, will be stored and secured in a Yondr pouch.

At the end of the school day or when officially dismissed for the day, students will be able to unlock their Yondr pouch at the exit to access their phones.

Kostic cited social media’s effects on mental health as to why the policy was put in place. He said face-to-face communication will improve students’ skills and create more meaningful interaction.

“Student engagement and student interaction that is compromised by non-stop messaging that is negative and distracting in the educational environment,” he said in the post.

Hines wanted to emphasize that the new policy is not to punish students, but to encourage a more positive and engaging environment.

“We want to help support our students who are struggling to focus while in school and to protect those who have been victimized by social media posts that are negatively affecting self-image and mental health,” she said.