CLAYTON — The Clayton School Board will take up the issue of regulating cellphones on campus after a group of parents organized in support of a ban.
Superintendent Nisha Patel and her team will collect data on cellphones in schools to present at a board meeting in the fall, “which may result in changing our existing policy and updating it if needed,†said board president Stacy Siwak.
The 2,400-student district has a technology misconduct policy that includes the use of personal electronic devices in schools, but each building principal can enforce their own rules. The use of phones in class is prohibited at Wydown Middle School and Clayton High School. But parents and teachers say enforcement is inconsistent, and phone use is common in some classrooms, bathrooms, hallways and cafeterias.
About 550 people have signed a in support of a cellphone ban in Clayton schools. Most of the speakers at the school board meeting Wednesday said the district needs to be stricter with phone use.
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“It is unfathomable that, in a district that presents itself as invested in the whole child, our policies would be lagging behind peer schools in the context of staggering research, and concerned feedback from Clayton students, parents and teachers,†said Anna Ives, who has two children at Wydown. “We need simple, enforceable policies that keep phones out of the classroom and social spaces in our schools.â€
Elizabeth Macanufo, a parent and former community relations specialist with the district, spoke against a total ban.
“This is the perfect time for them to practice good habits in a safe space with teacher and parent support,†Macanufo said. “They need to learn these self-regulating skills before adulthood.â€
District leaders will review other private and public schools’ policies to present to the board at a future meeting. At Westminster Christian Academy in Town and Country, cellphones must be turned off during school hours. If a phone is seen or heard, it is turned over to the office. Students at school districts including Riverview Gardens and Ferguson-Florissant must keep their phones in locked pouches during the school day.
At least one Clayton board member signaled a reluctance to instituting a ban on cellphones.
“I don’t know if the answer is a one-size-fits-all ban on devices or a renewed investment in digital literacy ethics and wellbeing,†said Kimberly Hurst, board vice president.