Schools Are Competing With Cell Phones. Here’s How They Think They Can Win

Isabella Pires first noticed what she calls the “gradual pandemic of apathy” in eighth grade. Only a handful of her classmates signed up for the service projects she helped organize at her Massachusetts school. Even fewer actually showed up.

When Isabella entered high school last fall, she discovered the problem was even worse: Spirit Week was poor and classes were taught by students who barely spoke.

In a way, it’s as if students “care less and less about what people think, but somehow more,” said Isabella, 14. Some teens, she said, no longer care about appearing disengaged, while others are so afraid of ridicule that they keep it to themselves. She blames social media and the continued isolation of the post-COVID era.

Teachers say their tried-and-true lesson plans are no longer enough to keep students engaged in an era of struggling mental health, shortening attention spans, declining attendance and deteriorating academic performance. At the heart of these challenges? Cell phone addiction. Now, adults are trying new strategies to reverse the malaise.

Cell phone bans are gaining traction, but many say they’re not enough. They advocate for alternative stimulation: sending students outside or to extracurricular activities to fill the time they might otherwise spend online. And students need outlets, they say, to talk about taboo topics without fear of being “canceled” on social media.

“To get students engaged now, you have to be very, very creative,” says Wilbur Higgins, associate English teacher at Dartmouth High School, where Isabella will be a sophomore this fall.

Cell phone cases, lockers and trash cans are becoming increasingly popular as a way to enforce bans on mobile devices.

John Nguyen, a chemistry teacher in California, came up with the pouch system because he was so upset by bullying and fights on phones in class, often without adult intervention. Many teachers are afraid to confront students who use phones in class, Nguyen said, and others have given up trying to stop it.

At Nguyen’s school, students put their phones in neoprene pouches during class or even all day, and a teacher or principal’s magnetic key unlocks the pouches.

It doesn’t matter how dynamic the classroom is, said Nguyen, who teaches at Marina Valley High School and is now marketing the pouches to other schools. “There’s nothing that can compete with the cell phone.”

Some schools also ban smartwatches and wireless headphones. But the cases stop working once the final bell rings.

That’s why schools in Spokane, Washington, are ramping up extracurricular activities to compete with phones outside of school hours.

An initiative launching this month, “Engage IRL” — in real life — aims to give every student something to look forward to after the school day, whether it’s a sport, performing arts or club.

“Isolating at home on a personal device for hours every day after school has become normal,” said head teacher Adam Swinyard.

Students can form clubs around interests like board games and knitting or join neighborhood basketball leagues. Teachers help students make a plan to get involved in back-to-school conferences, the district says.

“From 3 to 5:30, you’re in a club, you’re playing a sport, you’re doing an activity,” instead of on a phone, Swinyard said. (The district has a new ban on phones during class, but will allow them after school.)

At a time of high absenteeism, he also hopes the activities will provide the extra push some students need to get back to school. In a Gallup poll conducted last November, only 48 percent of high school students said they felt motivated to go to school, and only 52 percent said they did something interesting every day. The poll was funded by the Walton Family Foundation, which also supports environmental reporting at AP.

Vivian Mead, a senior in Spokane, said having more after-school activities helps, but it won’t work for everyone. “There’s definitely still people who just want to be by themselves, listen to their music, do their own thing or, like, be on their phone,” Vivian, 17, said.

Her 15-year-old sister, Alexandra, said morning counseling sessions have increased participation in the drama club the sisters are involved in. “It forces everyone, even if they don’t want to participate, to try something, and maybe it will click,” she said.

Thirteen high schools in Maine took a similar approach, having students participate in a total of 35,000 hours of outdoor sports in one week in May.

It’s encouraging for students to connect with each other in nature, away from screens, said Tim Pearson, a physical education and health teacher whose students at Dedham School participated in the statewide “Life Happens Outside” challenge.