While there were no plans for a division-wide cellphone policy in Border Land School Division (BLSD), Superintendent Krista Curry says the Province's recent ban on the devices in classrooms reinforces some of the conversations that were happening at a few of their schools.
Emerson, Dominion City, Vita, and Sprague are just a few schools in BLSD that are located here in the Southeast.
Curry explained, many of the Division's principals were already working towards some kind of school-based guidelines when the legislation came down, noting cellphones in classrooms were becoming an issue.
"Absolutely. Cellphones were out often. I would say that the feedback our principals were getting is that that was the continual thing that teachers were addressing," she said. "And I know in some of our schools where they elicited student voice and student feedback, there were some that were ready for the phones to get put away."
When students head back for another season of learning, those in kindergarten through grade eight won't be allowed to use their cellphones at all during school hours, including lunch and breaks. For students in grades 9 to 12, they'll be required to put their devices away during classroom instruction but can bring them back out during lunch and breaks. The guidelines will include exceptions to support students with medical and diverse learning needs, and for cellphone use for educational purposes in grades 9 to 12 when directed by classroom teachers.
"That will be structured, and the teacher would be giving instructions around that," explained Curry.
The Province is also requiring school divisions to set a clear direction for cellphone use for school staff.
"We're taking the same direction with staff," explained Curry. "Personal cellphones should not be used during instructional time or during periods of time when you're supervising children."
When it comes to implementing the new rules, Curry says the Board did not create a separate policy and instead, added the information to its existing Technology and Acceptable Use Policy.
"We have a pretty extensive code of conduct and so, in essence, being treated as any other thing would when someone directs you to do something and you don't listen," explained Curry. "So, there's a range of consequences that might happen, and that might vary depending on the circumstances of the child or the family."
Overall, she noted, BLSD is refocusing the conversation away from bans, to one of expectations.
"The word 'ban' always gets people defensive and so, we're not punishing kids. Kids are not bad because they use their phones and they like their phones. Adults like their phones too. But trying to refocus that when we're in school. It's a learning environment and we don't need our phones."
"We were worried they would feel like someone is finger-pointing," she added. "For a lot of kids, it is a social outlet for them. It is a break for some kids. When we grew up, we did different things - we watched tv or we went outside - and this is where we're at right now, so we need to figure out how to work with it. To just tell kids they can never have it, that's a harsh reality for them. But all kids now that when they grow up and when they go to jobs, there's expectations and so that's how we're trying to approach it."
While the Division has stressed to its principals that consistency is crucial in implementing the new rules, how they do it is up to them. Each school will develop its own unique plan that fits its specific culture and context.
Curry was quick to add that this adjust will also require some grace.
"We have adults and children who, they're addicted to phones and to come in and all of a sudden completely take it away, we need to have some grace. There needs to be reminders. We're hopeful that we can work in partnership with parents and that with conversations, people will come to understand."
The Division did send a letter home to parents before the school year began. Curry noted, their belief is that the conversation should start at home. Since the letter was sent out, she says there's been some mixed reactions, with some parents expressing concern over being able to reach their young child during school hours.
"The messaging to parents is, call the school," said Curry. "If there's an urgent message, they can get your child from class to get that message to them and if not, they can write down the message and get it to them at the next break in their day. And vice versa. If children really feel like they need to get a hold of their parents, they just need to talk to their classroom teacher or the admin assistant or principal and they can make arrangements to use a school phone to reach out to their parents as needed."