Cell Phone Policy
Details and FaQ
All that we do at Coastal Christian School aims at building our students’ relationship with Jesus Christ through an education in which truth and wisdom saturates the knowledge our students hear and receive.
Letter from Head of School Tom Olmstead
Dear CCS Parents and Families,
All that we do at Coastal Christian School aims at building our students’ relationship with Jesus Christ through an education in which truth and wisdom saturates the knowledge our students hear and receive.
While we recognize that new technology can be a great asset in achieving our goals, we cannot deny that, in recent years, we have recognized significant cell phone tendencies directly impacting our students.
Smartphones are beneficial tools with tremendous capabilities for communication, information gathering, and entertainment. But more and more research is corroborating what many teachers, students, and families have experienced directly, which is that cell phone use at school on the whole is detrimental to students’ academic performance, classroom and school engagement, and social development. They inhibit the fostering of a cohesive and Spirit-based school community by introducing media content and social interactions that are often superficial and unbiblical. Cell phone use on campus often runs counter to the spiritual habits and community interactions CCS is trying to promote.
Through diligent research, we examined multiple options for implementing a change in how students access cell phones during the school day. We concluded that the most effective path forward is to restrict student cell phone access during the school day, outlined in a new CCS Cell Phone Policy.
To carry out this policy, CCS will be using a pouch system created by a company called Yondr. In this system, we will not collect phones each day. Rather, each student will put their cell phone in a Yondr Pouch, then lock the pouch. This will allow students to keep their cell phone (within the pouch) securely in their lockers or backpacks. At the end of each school day, the students can quickly and easily unlock their pouches at one of several unlocking stations.
The pouches will be part of required materials for all secondary students. We are reducing the cost of the first pouch for each student to $25. Pouches will be handed out on the first day of class this fall. For more information about Yondr pouches, please visit the Yondr website.
This will not eliminate the ability to use phones in certain emergency situations. Unlocking stations will be in classrooms, and students can still visit the office during the school day to contact parents should critical communication needs arise.
We have created a FAQ section on this webpage anticipating some of the questions you may have. There is a link to the new policy from our Student/Parent Handbook, as well as links to some of the research considered in making this decision. If you need clarification about this new policy, please feel free to reach out to me or Vice Principal Jack Mefford at info@ccspismo.com.
I understand this is not a trivial change at CCS. We do all of this to benefit the spiritual and social growth of our students, so that CCS will continue to be a place where students can experience an exceptional education as well as develop a sincere and committed relationship with Christ.
Blessings,
Tom Olmstead
Head of School
Coastal Christian School
Cell Phone Policy FAQ
More and more research is corroborating what many teachers, students, and families have experienced directly, which is that cell phone use at school on the whole is detrimental to students’ academic performance, classroom and school engagement, and social development. They inhibit the fostering of a cohesive and Spirit-based school community by introducing media content and social interactions that are often superficial and unbiblical. Cell phone use on campus often runs counter to the spiritual habits and community interactions CCS is trying to promote. New systems like the Yondr pouch provide an opportunity to protect valuable student property while also making it easy for students to separate themselves from their cell phones for the duration of the school day.
Yondr pouches will be handed out to students on the first day of school (Thursday, August 22) in their homeroom (1st period) classes. At that time, teachers will walk through how to use the pouches and share best-practices. The pouch will cost $25 (billed via FACTS). If you sign the Cell Phone Policy Waiver (see next question in FAQ), that must be brought to school in place of a cell phone. Once a signed waiver is turned in, the $25 pouch fee will be voided in your FACTS account.
Students without a cell phone must have their parents sign the CCS Cell Phone Policy Waiver declaring that they do not have a cell phone or will not be bringing one to school, and thus will not need to purchase a Yondr pouch for the current school year. The waiver will also state that, should the student obtain a cell phone (and choose to bring it on campus) during the school year, a Yondr pouch will be immediately purchased.
Research and Implications
Mission College Prep in San Luis Obispo is also implementing a cell phone policy using the Yondr Pouch system. They have graciously shared some of the research pivotal their decision.
The tech moguls Who Invented Social Media have Banned Their Children from It
Olivia Rudgard, Irish Independent
Excessive Smartphone Use Is Associated With Health Problems in Adolescents and Young Adults
Department of Behavioral Sciences, Ariel University
Neuroscientist: “We Are Building a Generation of Low Attention”
Andrew Huberman, Motivation Madness
Jonathan Haidt Says Social Media Is Making America Stupid
The Russell Moore Show, Christianity Today
More Than a Third of Teens Say They Spend Too Much Time on Their Phones, New Study Finds
Clair Duffy, CNN
The Use of Social Media in Children and Adolescents: Scoping Review on the Potential Risks
(Multiple contributors)
*Read the “Conclusions” section (6) near the end of the abstract
DISCLAIMER: We are not associated with these authors, websites, and organizations. However, we found, in part, the articles and videos to be educational and insightful as we conducted research about cell phone usage among teens and in schools.
Questions?
Let us know!
805-489-1213
info@ccspismo.com