Away For The Day

Our survey results—CNN reports them

Delaney Ruston, MD
December 26, 2017

Thanks so much to the more than 2,000 of you who responded to our survey about cell phone policies in schools and parent preferences. CNN.com just featured our results for middle schools in an Op-Ed I wrote. Elementary and high school results will come later.  

I am so glad to give you these important results below and to ask for your help moving forward.

The main finding is alarming. The majority of middle schools (55%) allow students to carry a cell phone on them all day. That means only 45% of middle schools require students put their phones away for the day, such as keeping them in lockers. Public schools are more likely than private schools to allow students to have their phones all day.

And as I explain in the Op-Ed, science and experience show that allowing middle schoolers to carry phones all day can negatively impact their academic success and emotional well-being.  

The second key finding—and this gives us hope—is that over 80% of parents of middle schoolers do not want their kids to use their phones during the school day.

Parents want what the science supports—when it comes to creating optimal learning environments, policies that take cell phones out of reach of middle schoolers is ideal.

We believe so much in the importance of this that we have decided to dedicate time and energy to:

  • Fostering a nationwide dialogue about this topic
  • Creating tools to support parents and schools in deciding on best policies and implementation strategies

We have been compiling data, examples of specific “away for the day” policies, videos, and many other tools—and we need your help!

For this week’s TTT we would love you to do any or all of these:

  1. Read the CNN.com Op-Ed and share it with your family and beyond—the wider, the better.
  2. Join our FB page conversation where we just posted the CNN Op-Ed
  3. Help us map middle school policies by clicking here and let us know of middle schools that
  • permit students to carry phones all day
  • has recently changed policies
  • has an “away for the day” type policy

We will be rolling out tools soon and will be eager to have your involvement all along the way.  If you want the full middle school report, please email me at delaney@screenagersmovie.com.

I feel so grateful that so many of us want to decrease distractions and help our nation’s students.

With much appreciation,
Delaney and the whole Screenagers team

Here is a video from the Screenagers YouTube Channel that talks more about this subject

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Join Today - Members can screen and view our movies year-round, access new lesson plans, resources and much more!

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Our New Movie - Learn more about the third movie in the Screenagers Trilogy

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Away For The Day

Our survey results—CNN reports them

Delaney Ruston, MD
December 26, 2017

Thanks so much to the more than 2,000 of you who responded to our survey about cell phone policies in schools and parent preferences. CNN.com just featured our results for middle schools in an Op-Ed I wrote. Elementary and high school results will come later.  

I am so glad to give you these important results below and to ask for your help moving forward.

The main finding is alarming. The majority of middle schools (55%) allow students to carry a cell phone on them all day. That means only 45% of middle schools require students put their phones away for the day, such as keeping them in lockers. Public schools are more likely than private schools to allow students to have their phones all day.

And as I explain in the Op-Ed, science and experience show that allowing middle schoolers to carry phones all day can negatively impact their academic success and emotional well-being.  

The second key finding—and this gives us hope—is that over 80% of parents of middle schoolers do not want their kids to use their phones during the school day.

Parents want what the science supports—when it comes to creating optimal learning environments, policies that take cell phones out of reach of middle schoolers is ideal.

We believe so much in the importance of this that we have decided to dedicate time and energy to:

  • Fostering a nationwide dialogue about this topic
  • Creating tools to support parents and schools in deciding on best policies and implementation strategies

We have been compiling data, examples of specific “away for the day” policies, videos, and many other tools—and we need your help!

For this week’s TTT we would love you to do any or all of these:

  1. Read the CNN.com Op-Ed and share it with your family and beyond—the wider, the better.
  2. Join our FB page conversation where we just posted the CNN Op-Ed
  3. Help us map middle school policies by clicking here and let us know of middle schools that
  • permit students to carry phones all day
  • has recently changed policies
  • has an “away for the day” type policy

We will be rolling out tools soon and will be eager to have your involvement all along the way.  If you want the full middle school report, please email me at delaney@screenagersmovie.com.

I feel so grateful that so many of us want to decrease distractions and help our nation’s students.

With much appreciation,
Delaney and the whole Screenagers team

Here is a video from the Screenagers YouTube Channel that talks more about this subject

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