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Date: 9/28/2022
MONSON – After several discussions and presentations regarding the implementation of a new cell phone policy at Monson High School, a survey determined that parents and families are not in favor of the proposed plan.
During the Sept. 21 School Committee meeting, Monson High School Principal Matthew Sullivan shared that a partnership with Yondr, a company that makes mobile phone pouches with a magnetic lock, does not seem feasible at this time.
After the Sept. 8 School Committee meeting, at which Sullivan and a representative from Yondr provided a detailed overview of the company’s work, Monson teachers, staff, parents and families were surveyed on the potential change. “The results of the two surveys came back markedly different,” said Sullivan.
“The teachers and staff were overwhelmingly supportive of adopting the program with Yondr and the parents and families [were] a mixed bag. At best, there was some strong vocal opposition.”
Based on the survey results along with questions that the School Committee had, Sullivan said at this point, pursuing Yondr does not seem to be the right move. “The reason why is not because I have lost faith in that as a good option, but I just don’t see people being on board with it. For this to work, for any program to work, there needs to be buy-in for various stakeholders,” he shared.
Sullivan noted that this idea needs to be “shelved” for the time being. To create a more impactful cell phone policy then what is currently in place, Sullivan proposed another idea, which he described as a “streamlined approach.”
He went on to say that the expectation of students is that their cell phones are off and away during academic time in classrooms. If they are not off and away, there will be a gradual increasing discipline ladder that teachers and administration will follow.
In a nutshell, Sullivan explained that if a phone is easily visible to a teacher, the student will receive a verbal warning and the expectation is that they comply with that. If they don’t, the student will be sent to the office and receive detention. On a third offense, a student will receive a detention, have the phone confiscated and kept in the office until the end of the day. A fourth offense is the phone is taken, a parent comes in to claim the phone, along with a Saturday detention. The fifth offense, which Sullivan said he does not want to see happen, will include an in-house detention.
Sullivan noted that this policy is “pretty simple” and “straightforward” for students to follow and for teachers to enforce.
“One of my concerns is what happens with phones outside of a teacher’s view. In a hallway, in a bathroom, cafeteria… they’re being supervised but there’s 150 kids opposed to a room of 20,” he said.
By recognizing the limitations, they have, Sullivan believes this is a good place to start.
He shared that a big problem today is the recording of other students without their consent. If a student is caught doing this, he stated his belief that it should be dealt with “pretty harshly.” Sullivan noted that this would result in a suspension as he considers it a “really serious offense.”
He added that they will be collecting an abundance of data to see how many offenses someone has had and so on. To do so, he thinks providing teachers with a tracking sheet each week would be sufficient. At the end of each week, the sheets will be collected and reviewed. The five warnings will reset each quarter.
If students want to have access to their phones in case of an emergency, during lunch or transition times, Sullivan said this is a concern raised by many, to which he acknowledges. However, in terms of a classroom setting, Sullivan said it’s “really not necessary” to have it.
When it came time to vote on the proposed change to the current cell phone policy, the School Committee voted unanimously in approval. Sullivan shared that information will be sent home to families and the policy will be explained to students, to implement this immediately.
ALICE Training
Superintendent Cheryl Clarke shared that the district has been doing a lot of planning for “ALICE Training,” which stands for alert, lockdown, inform, counter, evacuate. ALICE is known as the number one active shooter training solution and preparedness education program.
To inform the community on what ALICE Training is, Clarke said they have hosted two parent events – one in the morning and one at night. She shared that the turnout was split with two parents at each event.
On Sept. 21, a letter was sent home to all families regarding the training that will occur over the coming weeks. This includes training of the new staff, along with students.
For grades pre-K-3, Clarke said they are reading the book “I’m Not Scared, I’m Prepared.” On Sept. 22, grades 7-12 were a part of PowerPoint training and three simulated active shooter drills at the high school. On Sept. 30, at Granite Valley Middle School, grades 4-6 will go through the same process. On that same day, Clarke said an evacuation drill will take place at Quarry Hill School and for grades 1-3 at Granite Valley. “There is not going to be mention of an active shooter, it’s just a practice for our youngest students to practice exiting quickly and following directions,” said Clarke.
She shared that they will also be hosting ALICE Training for anyone from surrounding districts or law enforcement that would like to participate on Dec. 28 and 29 at Quarry Hill. The administrative team and Clarke will be participating in that training.
Announcements
Clarke shared that the Booster Club is putting on a “Community Night” on Oct. 3 at Granite Valley. This will begin with the girls’ soccer game starting at 5 p.m. followed by the boys’ soccer game at 7 p.m. under the lights. There will also be concessions.
The first Parent Teacher Student Association meeting of the year will be on Oct. 5 at 6 p.m.
Monson High School’s open house is on Oct. 13 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Lastly, Trunk or Treat, a “popular event” as described by Clarke, will take place on Oct. 22 at Quarry Hill.