PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Some Pittsburgh public schools have spent a lot of money on bags to lock away their devices, but this first week back in the classroom will bring big changes for students and parents.

In a huge magnet school in Pittsburgh, 700 students from seven grades walk the halls. That’s 700 kids with the Internet in their hands.

Yolanda Colbert, rector of the Barack Obama Academy of International Studies, told KDKA-TV that fighting cell phones, bullying and fighting has become a full-time job.

“There are only two administrators, so we are not as well staffed as we were when we first started working on phone and technology issues,” Colbert says. “It takes a lot of effort for the administration to really investigate what’s going on, help students calm down, and inform parents. It’s just a vicious cycle.”

It invested money in Yondr bags in 2021, becoming the first public school in Pittsburgh to try the lockable phone bag that has become popular with comedians and musicians.

This ultimately did not solve the problem.

“Maintenance is expensive and if you don’t have enough staff at the checkpoints, everything runs slowly.”

In social media videos, students can be seen banging them on the floor to make the pen open. They even share links to magnets on Amazon that can be used to open the pens.

“In the coming 2024-25 school year, we are doing something different, not only for cost reasons, but also for staffing reasons and also because I listen to my students,” Colbert added.

While Obama’s middle school students will keep the Yondr bags, the older kids will go the old-fashioned way and use a bubble wrap bag.

“The goal is not punishment. It’s about creating a healthy habit.”

Principal Colbert lets students use their cell phones during lunch, but says if older students can’t resist the temptation, the bag will be returned.

“It’s kind of like, ‘Do you want to be seen as a high school student or a middle school student?’ That’s pretty much where we are right now.”

Another high school in Pittsburgh has gone even further. Brashear High School Principal Christina Loeffert is in charge of the district’s special tactics for the third year.

“We use containers and file folders. Then we take the bubble envelopes and stick them inside each file folder.”

She said the days of Brashear fights circulating on the Internet are over.

“Our school has changed so much since we started collecting phones,” Loeffert said.

She told KDKA-TV that there are fewer fights and less bullying and that awareness is increasing.

“The morale of the staff has changed. They are excited to teach again because the students are attentive and really want to participate in the lesson.”

Headmaster Loeffert says there has been some resistance, especially from parents.

“There were students in the hallways talking on the phone with their parents, and it wasn’t necessarily an emergency situation,” Loeffert said.

KDKA-TV reached out to Yondr, who said school districts are making an average of about $30 per student in the first year. For 700 students who don’t tear up the bags, that’s about $21,000.

Yondr tells KDKA-TV that its partner schools are experiencing “a dramatic reduction in disciplinary problems, increased classroom engagement, happier and less stressed teachers, and more enriching peer interactions necessary for healthy child development.”

Principal Loeffert says she will first try to overcome cell phone addiction with a limited budget.

Loeffert: The containers cost about $300 since we have about 45 to 50 classrooms for ninth period. File folders are not expensive and the envelopes are also very inexpensive.

Schiller: How much money did you save by not buying the bags?

Loeffert: About $20,000!

The parents fight back.

At Brashear, two students were pulled away from their parents when this cell phone policy first went into effect. One of the students will be returning this year.

Parents express safety concerns. Given the world we live in today, they want constant access to their child.

School shootings and security threats are a real problem, and school administrators know this can be worrying for parents.

They want parents and students to know that teachers have phones. Every room has a landline, and without phones there is less bullying, which they say also impacts student safety in everyday life.