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Midyear review: Washoe County's Phone Away, Learn Today pilot shows staff support, mixed student perceptions
Summary
District staff reported midyear findings from the Phone Away, Learn Today pilot: staff largely view it as beneficial and say instructional distractions decreased, while student survey data showed divergent perceptions and some concerns about enforcement and technology readiness.
Washoe County School District staff presented a midyear update on the districtwide Phone Away, Learn Today pilot on April 22, reporting early evidence that staff view the initiative positively while students remain more divided on the policy’s effects.
The pilot, launched in January, aims to reduce classroom distraction by standardizing practices for student personal electronic devices and providing phone-storage units and social-emotional lesson supports. The district also rolled out a teacher toolkit, front-office training and plans for a broader launch in fall 2025.
Director of Research and Evaluation Dr. Laura Davidson and chief academic officer Donna Angotti summarized survey results and focus-group feedback. Pre-launch climate surveys showed striking perception gaps between staff and students: for example, 93% of high-school students agreed that cell phones can be useful learning tools, while only 44% of middle-school staff said phones can be useful for learning. Davidson said the difference in attitudes between students and staff was "polar opposite" at baseline.
A staff midyear survey of 456 certified staff found 87% of respondents who had seen an impact described it positively and about 64% said the pilot reduced cell-phone use during instruction. However, only 42% of staff said it was easy for students to follow the new rules, and about 57% said enforcing the rules was easy or very easy for staff.
Student voice activities included peer-led focus groups administered by trained high-school students at the Student Voice conference. Students said they favored clear rules but wanted continued access to a device for safety or coordination after school; many also worried about consistent enforcement. "Students were more negative toward policies that were absolute," a staff summary said.
District leaders flagged implementation needs: teacher professional development on classroom-level strategies (for example, simple red-light/green-light cues), calibrated administrative walk-throughs and a communications push to sustain momentum. High schools, which had looser pre-existing norms, were called out as needing focused onboarding for incoming ninth- and tenth-graders so expectations remain consistent with middle-school practices.
Technology readiness was another recurring issue. Leaders said some in-class technology can be slow to boot or require setup time, and that school teams must plan lesson and device readiness to avoid instructional loss. The district affirmed ongoing work with IT to refresh devices and resolve hardware bottlenecks.
District staff said they will survey principals again in May, present year-end behavior data and return to the board in June with a plan for a full launch, updated regulation language and classroom monitoring tools.
