Barnard Principal Stephanie Skiba shows off a Yondr pouch, where the cellphone goes. All New Haven public elementary and middle school students will have to stow their phones in magnetically sealed ​“Yondr” pouches starting in January — per a new districtwide policy designed to minimize pocket-buzzing distractions by creating cellphone-free learning environments.New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) Supt. Madeline Negrón, Mayor Justin Elicker, and other district leaders unveiled that plan at a Wednesday afternoon press conference at Barnard School on Derby Avenue. Wednesday’s presser followed Negrón’s announcement of the cellphone-free-schools plan at Tuesday night’s latest Board of Education meeting at John S. Martinez School in Fair Haven.That new districtwide policy will require all NHPS K‑8 schools to implement Yondr pouches by January 2025. New Haven public high schools could be required to use Yondr pouches as early as the start of the 2025 – 26 school year.All K‑8 students will be required to secure their cellphones in locked Yondr pouches upon arrival at school through the end of the school day. Otherwise, under the new policy, K‑8 schools have leeway to craft school-specific Yondr-pouch policies that work best for their particular body of students and staff. The cellphone-free policy comes amid recent state guidance recommending, but not requiring, that public school districts across Connecticut ban cellphone use in middle schools and limit cellphone use in high schools. Some New Haven middle schools, like Barnard, have already begun piloting the use of Yondr pouches.Negrón said on Tuesday and Wednesday that national research has proven the benefits of removing students’ phones from their learning environments. She emphasized that less screen time helps students to be less distracted and therefore more engaged with class instruction, more open to social interactions, and less likely to fall victim to cyberbullying. The restriction of cellphone use in schools also limits social media drama from spilling to the learning environment.Elicker announced that due to the school district’s financial struggles, he plans submit a proposal to the Board of Alders that $375,000 in city funds be used to purchase enough Yondr pouches for all 19,000 NHPS students. He explained that the one-time investment would secure enough pouches for the district this school year and going forward for high school implementation efforts. “The solution is simple: cellphone-free schools,” Elicker said. He noted that the district will likely have to work in a smaller annual maintenance cost for the pouches. At Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting, school board member Matt Wilcox encouraged Negrón to include an educational piece into the district’s implementation plans to better educate students, parents, and other stakeholders on the benefits of the policy. Negrón said that throughout the remainder of the school year, she plans to host focus groups including parents, students, and school staff to learn what the district’s high school policy should look like, while understanding high schoolers’ responsibilities like jobs and parenting. Barnard English language arts teacher Dan Croteau: Student fights are down and no more pausing class lessons to take phones away. At Wednesday’s presser, seven Barnard eighth graders showed reporters how the Yondr pouches work, as a result of the West River school being the first New Haven public school to pilot Yondr pouches last school year. New Haven Federation of Teachers President Leslie Blatteau shared Wednesday that every educator has two goals: building deep meaningful relationships with students and families, and designing and creating engaging learning experiences. She said cellphone usage in schools impedes both of those goals and creates barriers for school staff to meet a child’s full needs. She encouraged the district to consider investing in more social emotional supports as the shift for some students may not be easy because of how dependent kids have become on their phones, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting online-only school. “Teachers will welcome the relief” of constantly telling their students to get off their phones, she concluded. Barnard Principal Stephanie Skiba said that the school allows students to take the Yondr pouches home with them each day to help them take ownership over their responsibilities. She also said students are made aware of where and who they can find in the building to gain access to the devices’ magnet release tool in case of emergencies. During some emergencies, like lockdowns, she said educators are taught that the pouches can be cut open with scissors. Skiba also reached out to parents informing them that if they need to reach their child or relay information to school staff, they must call the main office ​“old-school style.” She concluded that Yondr has provided the school with technical assistance and supports since the pouches’ implementation. Seventh and eighth grade Barnard English language arts teacher Dan Croteau noted that in his eight years at Barnard, he’s spent six of those years constantly dealing with the struggle of trying to get students off their cellphones. Croteau welcomed the districtwide policy, stating that it puts less burden on teachers and decreases the common occurrences of social media drama spilling into the school day. He concluded that physical altercations at Barnard have decreased significantly last year and this year since the adoption of Yondr pouches. Last year the school had a total of three physical altercations between middle schoolers. Eighth graders Owen Agba and Nathaly Ynoa Martinez said Wednesday they believe every school should have Yondr pouches, even down to elementary grades. Nathaly added that when her school had no pouches ​“a lot was always going on.” Now that they do she said she’s seen ​“drastic” changes in her and her peers’ grades and attendance.Cross senior John Carlos Serana Musser: No more phones means we need more money for working Chromebooks. Eighth grader Yeabsira Mulualem, 12, started at Barnard this school year. She transferred from Ansonia Middle School, where students were also required to use Yondr pouches last school year. She said the difference now is at her previous school, students’ phones were unlocked during lunch breaks. While Barnard does not do that, she said, she’s fine with it because she decided long ago to not bring her cellphone to school with her. “I appreciate this because it’s an opportunity to disconnect,” she said.Yeabsira concluded that her discipline with her phone usage will one day help her to get a job on Wall Street. Negrón said if the alders approve the mayor’s funding proposal, NHPS should be able to order the pouches and get them in time to roll out the policy by January. At Tuesday’s school board meeting, Board of Education student representative and Wilbur Cross senior John Carlos Serana Musser told the superintendent that as she works toward establishing a phone policy for high schools, she must consider that many schools like Cross no longer have enough Chromebooks to provide 1:1 access for its students. He continued that he has friends who therefore must write and read essays from their phones. ​“What are they supposed to do?” he asked. While he’s lent his school-assigned Chromebook to friends over the years, it’s not always possible because of his own need to complete school assignments. He concluded that the restriction on phones at the high school level will likely require an additional investment in Chromebooks to return to providing students with equal opportunity to accessing technology to submit and complete assignments. Barnard eighth graders and ELA teacher Dan Croteau: Ready for year two of Yondr pouches.