News

Phone Bans in Schools

Sloan Golas and Annika Arias • December 6, 2024

The image above shows the new off and away signs posted in every classroom (Sloan Golas)

The start of the 2024-2025 school year has been a little different for staff and students in Hall High School this year. West Hartfords newly implemented “Off and Away” policy is creating differing opinions between staff and students.

Some students like Eva Torres and Julia Arias,

Students at Hall, have said it is “unfair” as

Teachers like Ms. S claim “students grades are

Stronger than they were before.”
This image shows a Hall High School teacher taking a students phone. (Sloan Golas)

“We used to having our phones out and us upperclassmen the school has gotten out generation used to that which is why it is unfair.” Said, Eva Torres, a junior at Hall High School. Eva believes that upperclassmen are being wronged by the Off and Away policy.

“It is very strange because in middle school you would get in trouble practically for bringing your phone out of your locker”said Penn Gengras, a freshman at Hall High School. The 9th and 10th graders say they just feel disappointed because they are being treated the same as they did in middle school, “So having heard in middle school that you will be free from those rules in high school, then having it get taken away immediately the grade we moved into the school is a little frustrating.”
The image shows a student hiding her phone behind her computer. (Sloan Golas)

When students were asked how they felt the environment at hall has shifted, they had lots of different opinions.

“I feel like sometimes it has changed for the better because people talk to each other more,” but then the same student Eva Torres goes on to say “it does sometimes make me distant from other classmates because some people I don't see during the day get distant and I feel drifting often recently.”. Socializing, in-person interactions and enhancing students ability to effectively communicate with other students are some of the hopes teachers possessed when implementing this policy.
The graph above shows data gathered regarding the Off and Away policy. 100% of teachers agree with the policy, while only 7.5% of students agree with the policy. Purple=agree Blue=disagree

The data gathered shows that teachers tend to agree more with the Off and Away policy in comparison to students. When simply asked a yes or no question: weather or not whoever agrees with Halls new Off and Away policy, the teachers who were asked tended to inquire if they could elaborate on their answer and were much more passionate in comparison to the students. Mrs. Sattizahn, english teacher at Hall, explains her opinion in more detail.

“The students are actually having conversations with each other” “ less students wandering the halls and being with their friends on floors they shouldn't be on, and i think that it helps with behavior issues as well, in general students grades are stronger than they were before” then goes on to say “ it's realistic to many other career aspirations that people will have to be in situations where you aren't able to be on your phone and scrolling on snapchat.”
Works cited

https://www.nea.org/nea-today/all-news-articles/take-cellphones-out-classroom-educators-say#:~:text=As%20of%20September%202024%2C%2015,cellphones%20during%20the%20school%20day.https://www.fox61.com/article/tech/connecticut-board-of-education-guidelines-schools-cell-phone-policies/520-0d739402-904d-45b7-837d-fa4e406f5384https://portal.ct.gov/governor/news/press-releases/2024/08-2024/governor-lamont-urges-school-districts-to-implement-policies-on-personal-technology-use?language=en_US

Hall Record

Phone Bans in Schools

Hall Record

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