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School staff map what 'screen time' measures as data show middle-school usage highest
Summary
The division told the board that monitoring tools record the active window on a device (not cognitive engagement) and presented daily averages by grade: elementary modest (22–73 minutes), middle school ~172–185 minutes, and high school declining by grade (164→108). The district plans quarterly reviews, application analysis and new restrictions on YouTube search for younger students.
David Denn, VBCPS chief information officer, told the board the division's analytics measure the active foreground application on a student Chromebook and cautioned that those clocks can overstate engagement when screens are idle, showing a teacher slide or when devices use Securly Pass.
Denn walked the board through the distinction between device activity and cognitive engagement: ‘‘Device activity and cognitive engagement are not the same thing, and they don't move together,’’ he said. He illustrated how a 22‑minute simulation logged 22 minutes of screen time while only 7 minutes involved genuine device interaction.
The division's full-year averages: kindergarten–2nd grade 22–36 minutes daily; grades 3–5 55–73 minutes; middle school 172–185 minutes per day; and high school 9th–12th grades 164, 141, 130 and 108 minutes respectively. Staff said middle-school totals include Securly Pass usage and other non-instructional engagements and pledged next steps including:
- Blocking independent YouTube search for elementary and middle students and requiring teachers to embed approved video links in Canvas/Seesaw; - Quarterly screen-time reviews with principals and leadership teams; - A thorough application-by-grade analysis and formation of targeted teacher training on Securly features and allow-lists; and - Removing Chromebooks from kindergarten and 1st-grade classroom settings next year to reduce logged device time.
Board members pressed for follow-up data (median vs. mean), clarity on idle-timer settings, differentiation of in- vs out-of-school device use, and vendor dashboard demonstrations. Staff agreed to provide more granular dashboards and to continue principal-level reviews and training.
