Coming to your school? ‘Extremely positive’ McDowell cellphone ban may be model for others

January 15, 2025

0 3 minutes read

The McDowell High School ban on cellphone use during the school day is boosting student engagement and interactions, according to a study by school administrators.

And the ban may be coming to other local schools. Administrators from other area school districts are reaching out for details on implementing and enforcing similar rules requiring students to leave their phones turned off and in their lockers.

The McDowell ban has had “extremely positive” results so far this school year, said McDowell Intermediate High School Principal Scott Quivey. Quivey and McDowell High School Principal Sandra Means shared teacher and student reactions to the ban that went into effect this school year during a Millcreek Township School Board committee meeting on Monday.

McDowell Intermediate students are in grades nine and 10. McDowell High School students are in grades 11 and 12.

Teachers say the ban is having a positive effect on their ability to teach effectively. Counselors are dealing with less “drama,” and students are interacting more between classes and at lunch, according to a recent survey conducted by the school administration.

“A very overwhelming majority of our teachers feel that has had a great impact,” Quivey said.

Some schools require students to shelve their phones during class. Here, a student at Moorpark High School in Ventura County, California, places her phone in a doorway pocket.

What teachers say

Ninety-eight percent of the 114 McDowell and McDowell Intermediate teachers responding to a recent survey by administrators said that the mobile phone ban has had a positive impact on learning.

Students are more focused and engaged in class, teachers said.

One teacher’s comment in the survey was typical: “My students are so much more engaged. I can do so much more in my classes. Engagement is up. Participation is so much better.”

Prior to the ban, phone alerts and notifications on student phones created constant distractions, McDowell principals said in proposing the new rules last spring. During one 80-minute class period last school year, students in 15 classrooms received 4,273 notifications, or an average of 225 per classroom and 16.5 per student.

Students are interacting with each other rather than their phones, teachers said.

“Students are interacting and laughing much more frequently,” since the cellphone ban, another teacher said. “Honestly, I think many like the break from social media and texting pressures.”

“Even walking between classes, I’ve seen kids with their heads up having conversations, engaging with each other, when they used to walk with their heads down, earbuds in and they wouldn’t notice you passing,” Quivey said.

Counselors are dealing with less emotional turmoil from students upset with social social media posts, Means said.

“We don’t have the drama that something was posted on Snapchat or on Instagram that they’re looking at during the school day,” Means said.

What students say

Members of the schools’ student groups also report positive results of the cellphone ban.

“Instructional time during class is a lot better,” one student said. “Everyone is more focused.”

“I think the biggest benefits are that during tutorial, I am more focused on my schoolwork, and also I have been able to talk to people more in person during lunch,” another said.

2024 PSSA results: How did students in your school district score?

There still are students who feel they should be able to use their phones at school, Quivey said.

“We’re not hiding that fact, and I’m sure that’s not a surprise. But most of them have said, ‘I feel more focused. I have the ability to pay more attention in class and not think about what’s happening outside the classroom or on my phone,'” Quivey said.