Final Conroe ISD Cell Phone Committee Meeting Update
Final Conroe ISD Cell Phone Committee Meeting Update
Campus visits, teacher panel, vote on 7-8/9-12 guidelines
*These are my personal notes and thoughts, which do not represent the district or committee as a whole, nor do they reflect what the cell phone policy may or may not become.
This is part 4 (and final) post for a set of committee meetings regarding cell phones in CISD schools. If you are not up to date, start with this post first.
All presentation content shared in this post can be found on the CISD website here.
Collected research on the topic is here.
Meeting Summary
Reviewed more survey responses from parents, teachers, and administrators across 7-8 and 9-12 grade levels.
Listened to panel of teachers report on their experiences with cell phones and had Q&A.
Committee reported on campus visits that we were invited to.
Committee voted on final 7-8 and 9-12 guideline recommendations.
Attendance was high but less than normal as some tables merged with others.
Teacher Panel
Teachers are the best when it comes to talking straight. I was admittedly harsh with principals in my last post when I asked, “Why are we here?” when they all reported that they had no issues with cell phones. Teachers, on the other hand, had no problem talking about the challenges with cell phones they have seen over the years and how they manage them.
The panel also included a few counselors. Here were the notes I took during the panel discussion and the following Q&A from the committee. Note that experiences vary between school to school and class to class. Take each of these bullet points as an observation across many different schools in the district:
Q: General feedback:
“I tell them every day [to put away phones]. They complain but they do it.”
“Never had student tell me no. Most of the kids are great.”
“Strict enforcement in my class. I will take up a phone if needed, and one phone getting taken up will help others understand.”
“I have a wall caddy that they can all see and get to if needed. It works well for me.”
“Not every teacher handle cell phones in the same way.”
Q: What worries do you have for these proposed guidelines?
“If it’s not enforced administratively, then it will be a problem.”
“District should be supported from all the way top down. Autonomy should be available at campuses.”
“Need clear, consistent expectations.”
“90% of phone policing is on 10% of students. It takes a lot of time.”
“It’s always one student that’s the issue. Most classrooms have great kids.”
“Very challenging for teachers to enforce.”
“In AP Algebra, taking pictures is normal thing in instructional use.”
“What is the ‘then what’? What are the consequences?”
“Challenging with ‘baby’ and alt-certified teachers.”
“There will always be cell phone drama. Better success when colleagues follow the same policy.”
Q: Do we even need a District guideline?
“District guideline will help the ‘what’. Local Foundations are the ‘how’.”
“Speed limits need to be enforced, but some people still speed.”
Campus Visits
The committee was invited to visit schools to see cell phone use firsthand. My visit at our nearby high school did not go as well as I had hoped. I saw numerous cell phones out in every classroom, during instruction, while teachers were teaching. There was one class where phones were out for nearly half the class. I saw earbuds (in both ears) a few times. This was true for 90% of the ~15 classrooms we visited.
It is possible I caught them on a bad day, but from my short 30-minute visit, I left assuming the school was not enforcing its own cell phone policy, which was quite clear in their student handbook.
In contrast, other committee members, some of whom visited two to three schools (including junior and high schools), saw much better control over cell phones. They were impressed with what they saw.
Cell phone use truly is an issue per school, per administration, per classroom, per student, and per parent/guardian that may enable it.
7-8 Guidelines Vote
You can find the summary of survey votes by the committee here.
For 7-8, the committee voted in favor by 87% to recommend the following guidelines:
Cell phones and smartwatches may be used respectfully and responsibly before school and after school.
Cell phones and smartwatches should be set on silent mode and be kept in the designated storage area during class time (e.g. backpacks, cell phone caddy, or lockers), and should not be visible during instructional time.
Cell phones should not be used for reward time or free time.
Cell phones and smartwatches should not be utilized in any area of the building during class time. This includes hallways, offices, restrooms, locker rooms, etc.
Cell phones and smartwatches should remain in the designated storage area when students leave the classroom during class time.
Cell phone and smartwatch use during common times (e.g. lunches and class change) will be determined by campus administration in collaboration with the campus Foundations Team.
Cell phones and smartwatches should not be sued to capture video, audio, or images at school or on the bus.
9-12 Guidelines Vote
You can find the summary of survey votes by the committee here.
For 9-12, the committee voted in favor by 93% to recommend the following guidelines. It is the same as 7-8 with one change emphasized:
Cell phones and smartwatches may be used respectfully and responsibly before school and after school.
Cell phones and smartwatches should be set on silent mode and be kept in the designated storage area during class time (e.g. backpacks, cell phone caddy, or lockers), and should not be visible during instructional time unless directed by a teacher for instructional use.
Cell phones should not be used for reward time or free time.
Cell phones and smartwatches should not be utilized in any area of the building during class time. This includes hallways, offices, restrooms, locker rooms, etc.
Cell phones and smartwatches should remain in the designated storage area when students leave the classroom during class time.
Cell phone and smartwatch use during common times (e.g. lunches and class change) will be determined by campus administration in collaboration with the campus Foundations Team.
Cell phones and smartwatches should not be sued to capture video, audio, or images at school or on the bus.
In case you missed it, 9-12 gives more freedom to teachers for allowing students to use phones for instructional use at their direction, compared to 7-8 that is not allowing this activity.
Personal Thoughts
There was one item that was briefly discussed that I thought was important, which was the recognition of bias in this entire process with the Committee and school participation in general.
At any level of K-12 education, parent and community involvement is critical for success when it comes to students (e.g. parents being present in their child’s education). It is these involved people that volunteered for the Cell phone Committee. It is these parents who are checking their email from the school and answering the cell phone surveys.
The involved and present community are not necessarily the ones needing to understand the challenges with things like cell phones. Several of the issues seen in public education come from uninvolved parents or guardians that do not care to understand the issues with their children in school.
Putting bias aside, I believe this entire process with the committee has been very beneficial in shining a light on the topic and getting the issues of cell phones in front of the community and the School Board.
Whether we are approaching cell phones as a matter of mental health, classroom disruption, or improving student outcomes, I believe we all recognize that cell phones in classrooms are a challenge. We need these guidelines.
However, assuming the Board adopts these guidelines, how well schools drive this initiative is yet to be seen. It will depend heavily on collaboration with students and parents on these challenges, and a united front between teachers and administrators.
Next Up
The Committee is invited to the next Board meeting as Dr. Medford and Dr. Taylor present the final 7-8 and 9-12 guideline recommendations.
No more committee meetings or activities are currently planned. I assume if the Board passes the recommendations, then the committee process has been completed.
That’s all folks.
Thank you for reading!