Last year’s phone policy follows into 2024/2025 school year.

By: Hudsyn Hutfles

Sacred Heart is continuing to enforce the policy that requires 7th -12th grade students to lock up their phones during the school day to make for a better learning environment.

Starting Monday, December 4th, 2023, Sacred Heart administration decided to implement this policy as a way of boosting student’s engagement in class. The policy is that all students must put their phones in their designated boxes, which are assigned by grade level. The boxes are in the high school entrance and students put their phones in them before first hour. Once school has started, the boxes are kept in the teacher’s lounge and are put back in the hallway before the last bell rings.

If a student needs to get in contact with their parent during the school day, they can use their iPads to email them or use the office phone. Occasionally students will get their phones during lunch. When the decision was made to have students’ phones locked up, it came with a lot of negativity. Most students thought this was the worst thing that could happen. However, most students have come to learn it really isn’t that bad. Over the last several years research has concluded that cell phone addiction is a real thing. As Mrs. Dunn said, “We want our students to be fully engaged with the staff and each other instead of spending every free second looking at screens.” Now with phones gone students can be more engaged with staff and other students.

Senior Jentry Lechtenberg said, “I think in the classroom it is a good thing, but during free time like lunch, it would be nice to have them.” Occasionally students do get their phones during lunch, but not on a regular basis. Some students like it that we don’t have them at lunch. Sophomore Ellery Vonderschmidt said, “It would be nice to have our phones, but at the same time without them we actually talk to each other.” Overall, the new policy of phones being put away during the school day isn’t as bad as students thought it would be.