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Newberg School District plans high‑school 'away/away' cell‑phone rollout in January; board to monitor
Summary
District staff and students developed a high‑school cell‑phone implementation (options: visible caddy or zipped backpack) to reduce classroom distractions. Staff proposed starting a trial Jan. 8; trustees asked for transparency, consistent enforcement across schools and a spring update.
The Newberg School District 29J board heard Dec. 10 that high‑school administrators and students have developed a two‑option plan to limit in‑class cell‑phone use and expect to begin a trial the week students return from winter break.
Tammy, who led the district's cell‑phone committee of students, parents, teachers and administrators, told trustees the plan gives teachers two choices: keep phones in a visible classroom caddy or require them zipped 'away' in students' backpacks. Tammy said the committee intends to use existing board policy language and add clear administrative guidance for implementation and consistency. She said the high school would communicate the change to families over winter break and asked for flexibility in the start date if trustees wanted more time to review.
"We started this conversation in August," Tammy said, summarizing meetings with staff and students. "The intent became ... to create a new way of operating at the high school with some student guidelines and some teacher guidelines," and she described the January timeline as a trial run.
Trustees pressed for transparency and consistent enforcement across grade levels. Director Jeremy Hayden, who requested the agenda update, said the board asked for the discussion to ensure any school‑level changes would be presented to the board before becoming permanent. Some trustees warned that a policy written but not enforced is ineffective; others said the district should not wait to act if school staff are already seeing classroom benefits.
Student representative Oliver described classroom pilots already under way in some teachers' rooms and said he has seen at least one teacher use an 'off and away' protocol that includes consequences for repeated distraction. "It's useful during independent work time," he said, noting some students rely on phone apps for study.
Tammy told the board the district will use the free/reduced lunch chart to ensure course fees and any related costs do not fall on families who cannot afford them, and that staff have a small scholarship account for AP exam fees. Trustees asked to receive a formal update in mid‑spring after the rollout, with staff and student feedback and any recommended policy changes.
The board did not change district policy at the meeting; trustees unanimously endorsed continuing the rollout and asked staff to return with results and any recommended policy revisions in the spring.
The superintendent and board indicated they will consider whether language in the district's board policy should be modernized in 2025 after the high‑school trial and any guidance from the Oregon Department of Education.
