For the second semester of the 2024-25 school year, Archie Williams updated its tutorial cell phone policy, officially barring students from using their phones during the period. Administration first announced the update to students at the end of the first semester, going into effect during the first tutorial period of the second semester, Jan. 9. This policy aligns with the school’s ongoing effort to reduce phone usage and distractions in the classroom.
Prior to this policy change, students weren’t allowed to use their phones in their regular classes but could keep them during tutorial periods with the expectation that they leave them out of sight and not use them. Archie Williams Assistant Principal Kaki McLachlan says that there was no previous phone policy for tutorial periods because students can move between different classrooms.
“[Until recently,] we didn’t really have a tutorial phone policy. We had the phone policies for first through seventh period, but for tutorial, we weren’t sure how to enforce that same policy, given the flow that happens in tutorial. There wasn’t really a cell phone policy other than the ask that students not have their phones out during tutorial,” McLachlan said.
The new policy requires students to leave their cell phones in their Crew classroom in a designated cell phone storage area for the entirety of the tutorial period. If students choose to go to another classroom for either tutorial period, their phone will stay in their Crew teacher’s classroom, and they will get it back when they return at the end of the school day.
McLachlan states that Archie Williams administration made the decision to enforce a tutorial phone policy to uphold the district-wide policy and acknowledge the detriment phone usage can have on students. This policy restricts phone usage during instructional time so students can use tutorials for their intended purpose, which is to study, communicate with teachers, and catch up with schoolwork.
“[Our administration] recognizes the impact that social media has on all of our brains, but specifically to teenagers’ brains and the distraction that phones create during learning time. [Cell phones] just became a distraction during tutorials and [the staff] recognized that we needed to [remove phones from the learning environment] with fidelity throughout the entire day to really help our students stay focused,” McLachlan said.
Although the Archie Williams administration views this change as positive and significant, students like junior Nolan Anderson find that it may be inconvenient for those who need to use their phones as a tool during the period.
“During tutorial [the phone ban] will definitely help me stay focused, but I can see this being a challenge for some students who need their phone for homework or communication near the end of the day,” Nolan said.
Precalculus and Advanced Placement Statistics teacher Natasha Roberts believes that this change to the schedule will help students be productive during tutorial, but like Nolan, acknowledges that phones can be a resource for students.
“Tutorial is often a time when students are very distracted and not making the best use of their time, so having that distraction of the phone taken away from students is a helpful thing. Although [this change to the phone policy] is a little challenging because sometimes people need their phones to do their schoolwork and their phones can be helpful,” Roberts said.
The new policy’s requirement that students must leave their phones in their Crew classroom, students have expressed worry about the security of their personal devices. This has prompted administration to ask teachers to move their phone storage containers to secluded locations within their classrooms.
“Some students might feel uncomfortable leaving their phone in a room where they are not present so we’re asking teachers to move their phone caddies away from the door and closer to their desks, so [the phones] are a little bit more protected. There shouldn’t be students accessing the phone area at any time in tutorial, so [this request is] just to kind of help better safeguard your phone during tutorial,” McLachlan said.
Although this is a change to the routine of tutorial, the policy acts in accordance with an existing district-wide policy. Archie Williams administration believes the ban will limit distractions in tutorial, improving the productivity and effectiveness of the period. It’s unclear how these adjustments will impact students in the long run, but administrators are hopeful that community members can make a smooth transition.
“I think students have done a very good job following the phone policy during the rest of the school day and during other classes, so I think it will be an adjustment, but I think we’ll get there,” McLachlan said.
