Paducah Public Schools

Paducah Public Schools had begun working on eliminating cellphones inside classrooms last year, which was a tedious process, according to Paducah Tilghman Principal Deatrik Kinney. He expressed concern about the potential challenges of enforcing the new rule. He worried about the consequences for students caught using phones, whether there would be support from parents and the community, and if teachers would consistently apply the policy across classrooms.

He said with the statewide ban going into effect this fall semester, the implementation has been smooth, with teachers utilizing caddies to hold students’ phones or instructing them to keep them in their backpacks.

“Anytime during passing, we allow our kids to have their phones in the hallway or during lunchtime,” Kinney said. “So, it’s approximately 45 minutes out of the day that the kids might be able to access their phones. While instructional time is going on, there’s no cellphones allowed, period, inside of the classroom.”

Kinney said those pockets of time between classes and during lunch are when parents can contact their kids. He also said parents can call the front office to have messages relayed to the students.

Since the policy was implemented, Kinney said student engagement has increased. He expressed excitement, saying he is already seeing improvement in his school.

“Our teachers are starting to see more kids becoming engaged and paying attention, asking questions, communicating with students beside them and having those conversations that weren’t seen because of the cellphones,” Kinney said. “The communication skills are what our students are picking up, and engagement overall inside of this classroom is picking up. So, this, that’s all around a win for me.”

He said as student engagement improves, he expects grades will improve as well. Parents have also provided positive feedback on the new law, according to Kinney.

“Parents appreciate what we are doing,” Kinney said. “You know, you’re still gonna’ have some of those parents that don’t appreciate it. Most of our parents support what we’re doing, because it’s allowing our students to become more focused on instruction inside a classroom instead of worrying about checking their phone, seeing their friend text them or getting on social media sites.”

While Kinney said he has been hearing good feedback from other school districts, students have also said the new rule has been helpful. Paducah Tilghman senior Leyton Morris said when he was a freshman, the classrooms were filled with constant buzzing and ringing, which was distracting for him. Now, the energy inside classrooms is completely different.

“You’re more, like, focused on what the teacher is saying, and you’re not always worried about what other students are doing,” Morris said. “You’re more worried about your work and what you’re doing.”

Morris also said his friends have seen improvements.

Kinney said he believes the cellphone ban will remain in effect in the long term, saying there is no real need for phones in the classroom. He said students are already provided with computers to complete their work, making cellphones unnecessary for academic purposes.

“I just think the less time that you have a cellphone in front of you, or any electronic device, the more time you have to socialize with others, get to know others and also become engaged and vigilant and [know] what’s going on around you,” Kinney said. “I think it’s just very important you know that we keep it outside, out of the school system and allow our kids to become successful. That’s what we’re here for.”