Cell phones in the Middle School

Middle School

Dear Middle School Families,

We are so excited to welcome your children back to school for the 2024-2025 school year!

We want to remind returning families and make sure new families know about our cell phone and smart watch policy: the BVR MS is phone and smartwatch free. We began this policy last year, and we found a remarkable difference in our student’s abilities to focus on their academic work and have more positive social interactions with both adults and peers.

WHY WE ARE DOING THIS

Cell phones (and by extension, smartwatches) are particularly difficult for adolescents to manage—not only because of their addictive components but also because middle school-aged students have not fully developed the internal capacities that allow them to control their relationships with these types of technologies.

We owe our students (and all of the great experiences we are creating for them at school) the space to engage as deeply as they can without the distraction of a phone or a smartwatch.

From our experience and from all the data on the topic and research we’ve done as a community, we know Middle School students need more guidance when it comes to their cell phones. We are committed to doing our part as a Middle School to help our students learn and practice habits and skills around technology so they have the foundation they need to use any type of technology—from phones to watches to whatever else is invented—in a way that is healthy and mindful.

HOW THIS WILL WORK

Students can either leave their phones/smartwatches at home or, if they choose to bring them to school, they will place their item(s) in an assigned spot on a rack in the Front Foyer before first period. The rack will then be locked until the end of the day (3:40 p.m.) when students can pick up their phones from the Front Foyer.

Please note: on our materials list we’ve requested families provide their children with wired headphones; earbuds are discouraged from use because they are not as effective for recording.

If you need to reach your child in the middle of the day, please call the front desk at 617-738-2700. They can get a message to your child.

HOW FAMILIES CAN HELP

Read this email with your student. Below, we also share several resources that delve deeper into the negative effects of smartphones in schools.
If your child has a phone or smartwatch, discuss with your child whether they want to bring their phone/smartwatch to school. Let us know your decision by completing this form.
Let the school know if your child is leaving early by emailing attendance@bcdschool.org in advance. We'll make sure they can pick up their phone when they leave.

Click here to complete the form

SOME OF OUR RESOURCES

If you want to read more about the impact of phones in schools, here are some good reads:

Brain Drain: The Mere Presence of Smartphones Reduce Available Cognitive Capacity (The University of Chicago, Press)
Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Cellphones in Schools (Harvard Graduate School of Education)
The Case for Phone-Free Schools (After Babel Substack)

Eliminating cell phones and smartwatches from the school day is absolutely necessary for the learning experience of our students, so we will do everything we can to make this policy as easy as possible.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me or Ann Bevan Hollos.

In partnership,

Tiffany Smith

Director of Middle School