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Trustees discuss book study on youth tech harms; district weighs phone-locking options
Summary
Trustees and staff discussed chapters from The Anxious Generation and debated classroom device policy and possible phone-lock solutions; the board previewed a vendor 'Yonder' locking pouch and emphasized policy, discipline and community input.
Trustees used a portion of the May 20 meeting to continue a board book study of The Anxious Generation and to discuss how technology affects student mental health and classroom behavior.
Chair Wright and several trustees summarized chapters that link sleep deprivation, attention fragmentation and social-media harms to poorer student outcomes. "We are too quick to anger and too slow to forgive... Social media trains us to do the opposite," one trustee read from the book and urged colleagues to consider the effects on students.
Trustee Gardner and others reported conversations with parents who said district-issued tablets are being used at home and sometimes primarily for noneducational apps. Gardner referenced a UNESCO Global Education Monitoring report that he said found "little evidence that digital technology enhances learning in the typical classroom," and urged careful review of classroom device policies.
Trustees and several guests described a vendor demonstration of a phone‑locking device called Yonder. Trustee Sorensen said the product is an "all-around solution" that includes implementation support, recommended policies and speakers for staff and parents; board members discussed enforcement and disciplinary consequences for students who damage devices.
Student representative Bethany Newport, from Black Butte High School, told the board some students had concerns that a small subset would intentionally destroy locking pouches, which board members acknowledged as a risk.
Trustees framed the conversation as exploratory: they said the district needs a policy framework and community input before adopting tools. "If we really believe it's necessary, we've got to figure out a way to do it, whether it's this or something else," a trustee said. No formal policy change or contract was approved at the meeting.
