The Coffee County School System is stepping into the wild blue “Yondr” of cellphone restraint at Coffee Middle School and the George Washington Carver Freshman Campus by requiring students at both schools to secure cellphones and smart watches in sealed Yondr pouches during the school day. The board approved the measure at the June meeting.
Yondr pouches are small pouches that are designed to safely and securely contain mobile devices. They are sealed magnetically and students will not be able to open the pouches during the school day. They will keep their pouches with them in backpacks, purses, etc., during the school day. Once school is out, students can unseal the pouches and have access to their devices.
Dr. Morris Leis, school superintendent, stated that other systems have reported that there is an adjustment period with the pouches. At first, students don’t particularly like it. However, systems report that once students get used to it, they re-connect with each other and academic performance improves. Citing the Montgomery (Alabama) city school district, he said, “Students aren’t on their phones all the time and it’s really helped that district,” said Dr. Leis.
According to system personnel, schools that have utilized Yondr pouches have shown improvements in both student achievement and student behavior.
Dr. Leis added that the reason the middle school and ninth grade academy have been chosen at the two pilot sites for the pouches is those are the schools that have the most problems with cellphone usage. He said there is a big drop-off in cellphone-related discipline issues beginning at the 10th grade. There are also legitimate academic and work-related reasons why students in grades 10-12 need access to their phones.
“Our mission is teaching children not policing cellphones. I know there are going to be some things early on about policing the adoption of this but once that’s done, everything I’ve read here about what our folks need and are asking for – I’m fine with it,” said board member Bryan Preston.
Dr. Leis stated that the system will treat the purchase of Yondr pouches just like textbooks. The system will purchase the pouches and present them to students. There will also be language added to the handbook to reflect that students at the middle school and freshman campus will be expected to secure their phones during the school day.