Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Digital Device Policy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Midyear update: 'Phone Away, Learn Today' pilot shows staff support but enforcement and technology issues persist
Summary
Washoe County School District officials told trustees April 22 that the midyear Phone Away, Learn Today pilot has reduced classroom phone use and boosted staff approval, but uneven enforcement, classroom-technology problems and student resistance remain hurdles.
The Washoe County School District presented a midyear update on its Phone Away, Learn Today pilot April 22, reporting early signs that classroom phone use declined and on-task behavior rose, but enforcement and technology readiness remain challenges.
Donna Angotti, chief academic officer for elementary education, said the district launched the pilot in January after fall staff and student climate surveys showed sharply divergent views about phones in class. “We got some perception data...it provides a lot of groundwork,” said Dr. Laura Davidson, director of research and evaluation, who led the evaluation work.
Pre-launch climate data showed a large split: 93% of surveyed high school students said phones can be useful for learning, while only 44% of middle-school staff saw phones as useful. Staff were far more likely than students to say phones are a major distraction. After the pilot launch, a staff survey showed 64% of respondents reported reduced phone use during instructional time and 87% said the initiative’s impact on classrooms was positive.
But enforcement has proved uneven. About 42% of staff said students found it easy to follow new rules; about 57% said it was easy to enforce them. Principals and area supervisors told trustees that high schools posed particular challenges because policies were stricter at middle school levels and high-school teachers must manage larger staff and older students accustomed to looser rules. "This is gonna take some teacher training, best practices on how to manage this in the classroom," said area superintendent Chris Hackbush.
Teachers and principals told the board the pilot’s success depends on classroom technology reliability and advance lesson prep. Several trustees noted reports that some classroom devices can take many minutes to boot, eroding instructional time. Staff said next steps include training teachers in practical techniques (for example, simple red/green indicators, walk-through monitoring by administrators and tech checks), focused onboarding for incoming 9th and 10th graders, parent communications, and a full review of discipline recording practices.
The district plans to collect more behavior and survey data and present a final plan in June; staff said a districtwide communications and training push will aim to maintain momentum into the 2025–26 school year.
