CINCINNATI — As Ohio legislators push to ban cell phones in the classroom, one local school is already seeing the impact of a similar policy.
Students at Cincinnati Country Day turn their phones in to their advisers at the start of the day, getting them back when classes are over.
School leaders, including teacher Jamie Back, believe the policy is working.
"During class, they are more focused,” Back said. “They are talking to each other. They're talking to each other outside of class or talking to each other inside of class. They're participating, and they don't seem as distracted."
When the school announced the new policy last summer, many students were skeptical.
"I was definitely more upset, no one wants to get their phone taken from them," said senior Isabel Ramirez.
"I was upset, I'll be honest," said another student, Parker Corbin. "I like to have my phone on me."
After a year of the policy, some students were surprised to say they actually enjoyed it.
"I kind of have a weight off my back without my phone and having to worry about other things,” Ramirez said.
Some said disconnecting from their devices actually helped them better connect with their classmates.
"In between classes, I’m talking with my friends and teachers and having more genuine conversations than I would last year because I'd just be scrolling on TikTok," Ramirez said.
Corbin said it's helped him and his classmates perform better academically too.
"People have done better," he said. "It's less procrastination, less stress."
Head of School Rob Zimmerman said they worked closely with law enforcement when developing this plan, with safety at top of mind.
"Certainly in case of an emergency, teachers do have their phones and we communicate regularly, by phone by teams by text, things like that," he said. "We're still a very high-tech school despite that smartphone ban.”
Zimmerman's advice for any other districts considering a similar policy--
"My best advice is to do it in a way that is really uniquely tailored to your community. Our experience won't be the same for everyone and to embrace the change and do it quickly,” Zimmerman said. “We realized that the sooner we started living with this policy, the sooner we could learn from it, adapt it where it needed and frankly just getting used to it.”
Cincinnati Country Day will continue this policy next school year.
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