New Phone Policies Yield Positive Change

Middle School and Upper School administrators implemented different approaches to student cell phone use, but both have yielded similar results: more positive connections, increased focus, and reduced social pressures.

The data is clear: teens struggle to manage their smartphones. It reflects what USM teachers and administrators have experienced, and it supports the need for learning spaces in which students are free from the constant pull of their phones. For these reasons and more, USM’s Middle School and Upper School have recently implemented cell phone-free policies to overwhelmingly positive results.

Middle School administrators implemented the policy last school year, following months of testing that began with phone restrictions for 8th grade students only, in the beginning of the 2022–23 school year. That proved to be so popular that they expanded it to include 7th grade students in January 2023. “We heard directly from our 8th grade students about how the phone policy helped them get more work done at school, released them from friendship pressures, and made their class more united,” said Elaine Griffin, head of Middle School at USM. In that division, phones and smartwatches are collected by students’ advisors each morning and returned to students at the end of the day.

After months of research and planning, and much communication with parents and students, the Upper School implemented their own policy at the beginning of the 2024–25 school year. It involves the use of Yondr pouches, which are locked, portable pouches into which students place their phones. Students may keep the pouch in their backpack or locker, but are unable to access their phone until their pouch is unlocked at the end of the day. 

Prior to the Yondr pouch, Upper School classrooms used various methods like phone trees and boxes to store phones, but those methods sometimes led to conflict amongst students and teachers. The Yondr pouches take the onus of managing phones off of the teacher, and help to preserve the student-teacher relationship. For their part, teachers and administrators have also agreed to limit their phone use. 

The change was a big adjustment for Upper School students and parents, who were used to messaging each other throughout the day, but it has had a largely positive impact. “Although there are times I wish I could go on my phone, I actually enjoy the connections I’ve made with people when we’re not on our screens,” said Simrin Patel ’27. “I also find that my phone is not the first thing I reach for when I get home—which has definitely helped me stop procrastinating on my homework!”

Additional reading:
Smartphones in school? Only when they clearly support learning | UNESCO
The Case for Phone-Free Schools - by Jon Haidt
Should schools ban cellphones?
Opinion | Surgeon General: Social Media Platforms Need a Health Warning
Media Use by Tweens and Teens
A Week in the Life of a Young Person’s Smartphone Use
How Phones Are Making Parents the Anxious Generation