Four years after phone policies implemented, teachers pleased but students less so

Four years ago, Dartmouth High School enforced “Cell Hotels” for students to put their phones in during classes. Now the administration says that it’s had a positive impact on both students’ social and academic lives. 

Under the policy established four years ago, phones are not allowed to be used in any instructional spaces, including classrooms and the library. 

There is currently no data surrounding whether limiting phone use has improved test scores, as the rule was implemented after the Covid-19 lockdown. Other schools have reported much lower rates of failing scores, according to Ryan Shea, the high school principal. 

Shea said a majority of student conflict occurs off school property now that phones are not allowed. While he cannot speak for levels of bullying outside of school, he thinks it has gone down on school property. Anna Spinelli, a sophomore at the high school, agrees with Shea that bullying is down.

When the policies were first in place, the school paper did a story on the policy. Many students had mixed opinions, with some saying it’s helpful to focus and others saying  that it’s unnecessary. 

Students today say that the policy is “strict,” including sophomore Queatin Frias. 

“I feel sometimes it gets kind of annoying because phones are used for safety reasons,” said Mae Amaral, a sophomore, “Phones can be helpful when you need to call your mom or something and you’re in class and you can’t because your phones in the holder, it’s just kind of annoying.”

Other students like Spinelli feel it the phone policies are a good thing.

Jessica Brittingham, an English teacher at the high school, mentioned that there is research showing that library circulation rates increased with bell-to-bell phone bans.

“All of sudden they were reading because they were bored,” she said. 

While the school administration feels that phones are important tools in society, the focus is on student mental health and focus on classwork while in school. 

Brittingham said that it’s important to learn how to use phones as a beneficial tool in daily life, such as managing tasks for people with attention issues, but that it’s not something that will be taught in the schools. 

Dartmouth was one of the first schools in the area to establish a  phone policy, according to Shea. Some students didn’t react well at first, but have accepted it now that many of the surrounding schools have gotten rid of phones. They feel kids are also more accepting of this now due to the fact that it is enforced in all classes. 

Stephanie Santos, the assistant principal at the high school, said that students may even enjoy this rule now, as she has noticed they choose to socialize rather than check their phones in the hallways and cafeteria. 

Administrators said they are unsure how the potential 2026-2027 Massachusetts law completely banning phone use in school will affect the students as the state has not announced any guidelines yet. 

“We know cell phones out of hands is a good thing, more learning happens,” Shea said.