“We couldn't have anticipated that ‘Away for the Day’ would go as great as it has to start this school year.”
School Administrator, the monthly magazine of AASA, The School Superintendents Association. is running a feature article this month that I wrote about implementing Away For The Day cellphone policies, where I share several stories from school administrators. Recently I received a wonderful email from Adam Slusher, vice principal at Pennsville Middle School in New Jersey, who did a thoughtful rollout of Away For The Day, using many of the free resources we’ve put together to help people through the process.
What I think is great about the letter is that it maps out in great detail the rules they created as well as details on how they implemented Away For The Day. The school did a lot of leg work with families before the school year started, but that said, we know of schools that changed to Away For The Day after winter break.
“I wanted to give you an update on how things are going here at Pennsville Middle. Since July, we began communicating with parents that we were moving to an "Away For The Day" policy regarding smart devices. In our messages, we encouraged parents to have conversations with their children 6 weeks ahead of school to prepare them for going deviceless from 7:35 - 2:13. We continued (probably annoyingly) sending messages throughout August reminding parents how we were going to handle smartphones much differently this year.
At our Board of Ed meeting in August, we adopted the policy below and communicated to parents that we would be taking devices away if they interfere with learning.
We also presented to the entire student body on the first day of school our philosophy, why we're moving in this direction, and what the consequences would be if instructional minutes were interfered with.
I have cc'd our Principal Carolyn Carels on this email because she would likely echo the same thing that I am about to say. We couldn't have anticipated that Away For The Day would go as great as it has to start this school year. The amount of devices that we saw last year in the hallways, classrooms, and cafeteria (which we allowed) was exorbitant. Teachers only wrote up the most egregious violations of our cell phone policy - and it slowly spiraled out of control as the year went on.
…Students have been very cooperative, and I think they understand the why of what we're doing. We can't tell you how much we've been thanked by staff - this school year has just had a completely different positive feel to it.
Yesterday after our State testing, we took time in the afternoon to show Screenagers to the entire student body and have teachers facilitate discussions with students. …
…I also wanted to thank you [ Delaney and Screenagers team] for all the work you have done compiling research and highlighting other districts and schools that are moving in the same direction. It made it easy for us to communicate our rationale with parents, district administration, and the Board of Ed. It seems like every time we look at the news now, we see another district moving in this direction because of how distracted this generation is.
This is one of the bigger "teachable moments" of our careers so far because adults are learning how to manage this right along with our students. Thanks again for all your hard work and we will continually try to keep you updated!
—Adam J. Slusher, Ed.D
Vice Principal - Pennsville Middle School"
“We couldn't have anticipated that ‘Away for the Day’ would go as great as it has to start this school year.”
School Administrator, the monthly magazine of AASA, The School Superintendents Association. is running a feature article this month that I wrote about implementing Away For The Day cellphone policies, where I share several stories from school administrators. Recently I received a wonderful email from Adam Slusher, vice principal at Pennsville Middle School in New Jersey, who did a thoughtful rollout of Away For The Day, using many of the free resources we’ve put together to help people through the process.
What I think is great about the letter is that it maps out in great detail the rules they created as well as details on how they implemented Away For The Day. The school did a lot of leg work with families before the school year started, but that said, we know of schools that changed to Away For The Day after winter break.
“I wanted to give you an update on how things are going here at Pennsville Middle. Since July, we began communicating with parents that we were moving to an "Away For The Day" policy regarding smart devices. In our messages, we encouraged parents to have conversations with their children 6 weeks ahead of school to prepare them for going deviceless from 7:35 - 2:13. We continued (probably annoyingly) sending messages throughout August reminding parents how we were going to handle smartphones much differently this year.
At our Board of Ed meeting in August, we adopted the policy below and communicated to parents that we would be taking devices away if they interfere with learning.
It has been four years since my team and I launched The Away For The Day (AFTD) campaign to help people get sound cell phone policies into schools. The research remains clear that when phone use is limited at schools, students do better socially, academically, and emotionally. Given the enormous increases in screen time and social isolation over the past two years, as well as the jump in mental health problems, ensuring healthy phone policies is more important than ever. Today, I share some wonderful examples of how the AFTD Campaign has led to real changes in schools across the country.
READ MORE >The science is clear: Having phones used less during the school day increases connections and decreases distractions. Students do better socially and emotionally, as shown by research. Now more than ever, it’s time to look at our Away For The Day Campaign, which is full of tools to help bring change to your elementary, middle, or high school.
READ MORE >We are making changes on Away For The Day. We are now advocating an away-for-the-day cellphone policy not just for middle schools but for high schools and, of course, elementary schools, too. Today we share experiences from trailblazers and resources for anyone to get the policy changed at their school.
READ MORE >for more like this, DR. DELANEY RUSTON'S NEW BOOK, PARENTING IN THE SCREEN AGE, IS THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE FOR TODAY’S PARENTS. WITH INSIGHTS ON SCREEN TIME FROM RESEARCHERS, INPUT FROM KIDS & TEENS, THIS BOOK IS PACKED WITH SOLUTIONS FOR HOW TO START AND SUSTAIN PRODUCTIVE FAMILY TALKS ABOUT TECHNOLOGY AND IT’S IMPACT ON OUR MENTAL WELLBEING.