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St. Charles high schools report sharp drop in device referrals after district cell‑phone policy rollout
Summary
District assistant principals told the board the high‑school cell‑phone procedure, introduced after a year of planning and staff training, has produced large decreases in device‑related referrals and high levels of classroom compliance; administrators said the change coincided with efforts on digital citizenship and restorative practices.
Administrators from both St. Charles high schools reported to the board on Oct. 14 that a district cell‑phone procedure implemented this year is showing measurable reductions in device‑related disciplinary referrals and high classroom compliance.
Rebecca (Becca) LaPorter and Nicole Osborne, assistant principals who led the implementation committee, described a yearlong planning process that included staff professional development, common language for classrooms, a universal referral system, student meetings and family communications. They said classrooms use cell‑phone caddies to remove phones from instructional time and that administrative walkthroughs and spot checks show widespread use.
The presentation included district‑collected data. LaPorter said walk‑through data at East High School showed 95.7 percent adherence to the caddy practice. Administrators reported a 66 percent decrease in device‑related referrals at East compared with the same period last year and a 58 percent decrease at North. Nicole Osborne said 2 percent of all referrals to the dean's office at North have been related to cell phones this year and that classroom spot checks showed caddy use in 100 percent of classroom spaces reviewed, including gyms and auditoriums.
Administrators said device‑related referrals now make up a small share of total disciplinaries at both schools and that repeat offenders have been limited. They described a mix of interventions, including removal of the device (loss of privileges), parent collaboration and restorative conversations. LaPorter and Osborne said families have generally supported device removal when appropriate, which helped reinforce consequences and reduce repeat behavior.
The presentation also highlighted ancillary effects administrators described as positive: fewer students out of class during instructional time, fewer incidents of students recording classmates without consent, and an increase in face‑to‑face social interaction during lunch, when phones are permitted. Administrators said digital‑citizenship instruction is integrated into the school schedule (lessons in the library/resource center and by instructional coaches) to teach students about online safety and the digital footprint.
Board members praised the implementation and asked follow‑up questions about lost or stolen items; administrators said there had been no referrals to the dean's office for theft from caddies and that teachers strategically place caddies to keep devices supervised. Board members encouraged continued fidelity and data collection; administrators said they plan ongoing surveys of staff, students and families and quarterly reviews of the data.
Why this matters: The district sought a systemwide approach to reduce classroom disruption linked to phone use and to improve digital citizenship. Administrators presented measurable declines in device‑related disciplinary referrals and reported that much of the staff feedback has been positive.
