11-03-2025
Joplin High School introduces cell phone lockers aimed to boost student focus
JOPLIN, Mo. — A new option at Joplin High School is hoping to focus attention on classwork and away from distractions.
'Teachers have been starting to enforce us to put them in our lockers and to lock them up during class,' said Isaac Yust, JHS junior.
Joplin High School junior Isaac Yust is ok with not using his cell phone during class.
He says it helps get more work done – not the case in the past when he's seen fellow students scrolling at their desk.
'They would just, you know, just scroll through their social medias or whatever, and not listen to the teachers,' said Yust.
All classrooms on campus now have the cell phone lockers.
It's a clear plastic box with individual locks and keys.
'In class, we have a lot of students who pull their phones out. I mean, just non stop kind of and so with the locker, it's another step for us to kind of encourage them to use their brain and focus on the content of class and not be on the phone or checking the phone or looking at the phone,' said Rebecca Olivares, JHS teacher.
Teacher Rebecca Olivares says the project is one more way to help separate teens from outside concerns, boosting the learning process.
'We see our students are much less likely to be able to focus for extended grades and time. It's distracting. It causes issues between students, you know, with the social media use,' said Olivares.
It can also cut down on temptations to cheat.
'There are so many apps, you know, where you just take a picture and it tells you the answer to the problem. And so that causes problems for our students. Because they can't, they leave our room not really understanding,' said Olivares.
Joplin High School has had a policy banning use of cell phones during class time for several years.
They added the cell phone lockers when students returned from Christmas break this year.
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