In May of 2024 Dean Douglas sent out a video to the entire student body telling them that next year things were going to change regarding phones. They were not allowed in pockets, they were not allowed in bags, the only place they were allowed was lockers. Lockers, bags and people would be checked. Phones were no longer allowed in school.
On September 16 Oliver Cockle, Will Holbrook, and Kylee Bunting interviewed Dean Douglas regarding the new phone policy. Douglas ended that video saying, “There are probably issues that I don’t even know exist yet will arise. One of the wonderful things about working with kids is that you are incredibly creative in all sorts of ways, so it will be really interesting to see what six months looks like.”
Six months later here we are. Did the phone policy work and the answer from everyone interviewed seems to be a resounding “kind of.” The locker rule for the most part has gone away.
“I think the lockers were a nice thought,” Douglas said. “I don’t think policies that don’t have any follow through are good, I think that we’re at our best when we understand what the expectation is.”
Some students however are still following the locker rule like senior Xander Klein. He has continued to put his phone in his locker saying that it has ultimately improved his mental health. However he thinks that overall the rule is not working right now, and you can still see people with phones everywhere.
“I would say that 90% of problems between students involve phones,” according to counselor Sam Hoopes. He thinks that the phone policy is a good idea but says, “what we could build on is everybody being more uniform.”
Six months later the phone policy, while not a total failure, appears to need some adjusting with Dean Douglas ending the interview saying they will spend the summer thinking about what they need to change.