DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) – Williams Intermediate and Davenport Central High School are launching two different programs to eliminate phone distractions in the classroom.

At Davenport Central High School, there is a cell phone locker in each classroom that students can pick up at the end of each period. Students can use their cell phones during lunch and recess.

Brian Ehlinger, principal of Davenport Central, says phones are a major distraction.

“Students were just expected to learn out of sight,” Ehlinger said. “So we started doing that and found that when students put a phone in their pocket, they automatically think, who is calling me, and even though the phone is out of sight, when it rings, they automatically think, who is calling me? What am I missing?”

Williams Intermediate will make its school a phone-free place using a program called Yondr to improve teaching and learning.

According to a press release, Yondr has been implemented in over 2,000 schools in 16 countries to create an engaged learning environment.

Eric Johnson, principal of Williams Intermediate, says the idea came from a teacher.

“Last year, a teacher came to me and said, if we’re not using cell phones in the classroom, why are we letting the kids carry them around and stuff like that,” Johnson said. “I just keep racing against the clock, checking every text message that comes in and stuff like that.”

The Yondr program uses a simple, secure bag to store a phone. Each student places their phone in a personally assigned Yondr bag upon arrival at school. Students keep their phone and do not use it until their bags are opened at the end of the school day.

“We believe that phones are very useful,” school officials said. “We have also found that learning and social behavior improve dramatically when students are fully engaged with their teachers and classmates.”

Students are required to bring their Yondr bag to and from school daily and are responsible for it at all times.

According to Monday’s school board agenda, the superintendent will present a report on the cell phone cases.

Williams Intermediate received responses from over 1,200 school partners to our annual surveys and after implementing the Yondr education program:

• 84% noticed a change in student engagement
• 72% saw a positive change in the students’ behavior
• 68% saw a positive change in academic performance

From their recent survey of over 370 of their school partners:

• 86% saw a positive impact on student safety and well-being

Both principals want students to feel a difference when they turn off distractions like cell phones.

“I hope it increases student engagement, their participation in class and also their overall test scores,” Johnson said. “I just look at it that way because I know I’m an adult and I have a hard time controlling my technology use in meetings when it goes off without feeling like I have to look at it to see what’s going on.”

“I hope it’s successful,” Ethlinger said. “We know there are always challenges with any new initiative, but I think students will find a lot of value in not having their phone on them.”

United Township implemented a similar system last year where students placed their phones in a numbered bag corresponding to their desk number before each class.

All rights reserved.