Talbot County middle school reports fewer disruptions after 10 months of Yondr phone pouches

Miss Clawson, principal at Easton Middle School, told the Talbot County Board of Education that the school has used Yondr phone pouches for about 10 months and is seeing tangible discipline changes. "From the first day of school, August 25 through November 12 ... there were so far 107 discipline referrals," she said, adding that those referrals represented 56 students and "0 of them were electronic offenses." She said seven referrals involved a phone but were coded under other disruption categories.

Why it matters: The board pressed for evidence that the pouches alone drove the change. Clawson said reductions in disruption and time spent investigating social-media incidents have allowed staff to focus more on instruction: "We have spent a drastically reduced amount of time having to investigate social media drama." She supplied a year-over-year comparison, saying the school recorded 258 instances of disruption in one year versus 145 in the next, "a 113 fewer disruptions."

What the board asked: Members sought comparative and academic-tracking metrics before expanding the program. A board member asked whether students consistently sealed the pouches and whether dismissal routines demonstrated compliance; Clawson said morning announcements (in English and Spanish) and classroom monitoring support compliance, but acknowledged some students do not fully lock pouches and that school staff cannot check every device on every day. She said medical exceptions use Velcro medical pouches on a case-by-case basis.

Parents, durability and workarounds: Clawson said some parents objected last year and at least one parent told their child not to use the pouch; the school enforces the same expectations regardless of parental preference. She also acknowledged earlier durability problems (pins bending) that were reduced after changes in instructions, and that the school has encountered "dummy phones," with the same consequences applied whether the device is real or not. Damaged pouches are a restitution cost to students.

Limits of the evidence: District staff and Clawson repeatedly cautioned that Yondr is one of several interventions at the middle schoolincluding a house system, conscious discipline and restorative practicesso isolating Yondrs individual effect is difficult. Clawson said she scheduled a follow-up call with a Yondr representative to set academic goals and to explore ways to track impacts on grades and classroom assessments.

Next steps: The board requested comparative pre/post data and clearer academic measures (beyond state tests) to determine whether the pouch program should be expanded to other schools. Saint Michael's middle grades started the pouches recently; the district said fuller data from that site will be presented later in the school year.