5 days ago
Roseville school district sees improved grades with campus phone ban
No cellphones is a new policy that some school districts across the state are embracing, including the Roseville City School District.
Eich Middle School Principal Darren Brown met with CBS13 one year after the new district policy was unveiled and shared the success his school had.
Principal Brown said all the things they were hoping would increase with the cellphone ban did, with honor roll doubling from about 160 kids to over 300 kids.
"All the things we were hoping for, like a decrease in behaviors, referrals, and suspensions, all happened," Brown said.
Brown said Eich Middle also had the best standardized test scores in its history.
"Instead of being on their phones, they rely on each other, and they rely on the school system to teach them," Principal Brown said.
Under the policy, cellphones must be powered off while in the classroom and during breaks or lunch.
"It wasn't that bad," said Avery Sinore, who is an incoming 8th grader at Antelope Crossing Middle.
The Dry Creek Joint Elementary School District also implemented the policy last year.
Sinore said it cut down on distractions, increasing focus in the classroom and engagement with one another in the hallways.
"At lunch a lot of kids like talked to each other instead of just being on your phones the whole time," Sinore said.
Suhana Kaur said she did not see strict enforcement at Cavitt Junior High, which is a Roseville City school, but she still saw some benefits.
"It's definitely a good idea to prevent cheating, but a lot of people get around it," Kaur said.
Principal Brown said that other school districts have reached out to learn how to successfully implement this type of policy.
"As a complete school community, we all embraced it," he said.
Both staff and students participated in the cellphone ban, and that is why Principal Brown thought it was so impactful.
He said parents at the middle school were also supportive, and they do not plan on making any changes to the policy in this new school year.
