SUHSD middle schools to implement a phone-free environment during school hours with Yondr, starting fall

SALINAS, Calif. (KION-TV) -- Salinas Union High School District (SUHSD) announced Monday that they are working to make middle schools a phone-free space with the intent to improve both instruction as well as student learning.

"We believe that phones have great utility," said Harden Middle School in a Facebook post. "We have also found that learning and social behavior improve drastically when students are fully engaged with their teachers and classmates."

Schools implementing this phone-free culture will be doing so with a company called Yondr. According to SUHSD, Yondr is already in more than 2,000 schools across 16 countries and they keep students phone-free with a secured pouch that will store the phone during school hours.

The program says that once a student enters their school, they then put their phone in their personally assigned Yondr pouch. The pouch will be closed and secured, yet the student can keep it with them throughout their school day, according to Harden Middle School.

Once the school day is finished, the student can retrieve their phone by tapping the pouch on an unlocking base. SUHSD says that the student is responsible for bringing their Yondr pouch with them to and from school, as well as overseeing the pouch off-campus.

According to an annual survey response of over 1,200 schools, the Yondr Program saw an 84% increase in student engagement; a 72% positive change in student behavior; and a 68% positive change in academic performance.

"Of our most recent impact survey of over 370 of our school partners, 86% saw a positive impact in student safety and wellness," according to Yondr.

The District says that this program will start in the fall.