Franklin Institutes New Phone Policy, May Begin Using Yondr Pouches Next Year

At the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, Franklin High School implemented a new phone policy for its students requiring them to stow their phones in a designated phone holder for the entirety of each period. Additionally, starting this year a number of Portland Public Schools (PPS) including Grant and Cleveland High Schools have implemented a different phone policy with the use of Yondr pouches after having similar policies to Franklin’s current one the previous school year.

Yondr is a brand that creates locking pouches designed to hold phones, which can be opened using ‘unlocking bases.’ According to Grant’s website, this policy requires every student to bring their personally assigned, school owned, Yondr pouch to and from school daily, and to secure their phone and any smartwatch in the pouch before arriving to campus.

At Grant and Cleveland, devices stay locked through breaks and during lunch until the end of the day when students have access to unlocking stations at the school. At some other PPS schools, such as Benson and Roosevelt High Schools, the policy is no phone use during class time, with desktop phone holders provided for students to use at their discretion.

PPS is also currently working on creating a district-wide cell phone policy, but Franklin’s Principal Dr. Zulema Naegele is unsure exactly how it will affect Franklin. PPS administrators were unavailable for comment regarding the district cell phone policy, but the working draft suggests that schools will still operate their own policies at least semi-autonomously.

Naegele describes the decision for Franklin to institute a phone policy as a team effort with various Franklin staff members. She says that for her personally, “The goal was to get to one school-wide policy.” Naegele explains that consistency between classes was the driving force for the decision, since the previous inconsistency was, in her opinion, hard for both teachers and students to follow.

She is not alone at Franklin in feeling that the new policy was necessary, or that consistency throughout the school is key. English teacher Fanny Ortega, who had essentially the same phone policy in her own classroom last year, feels that the policy is working well so far, particularly because it is now a school wide policy, saying, “there’s more support, and more teeth behind it … so kids have been compliant.” Many teachers agree that consistency between classes is what makes this policy effective.

Franklin Career and Technical Education (CTE) business teacher Jose Losoya agrees, saying that he thinks the new policy is “working phenomenally.” Franklin chemistry teacher Merritt Sansom has already noticed a difference in just the few class periods she has had thus far. She says, “The struggle to get students to keep their phones away is gone. It’s nice to just be able to teach again and to not have to be the cell phone police just to get students to pay attention.” Wesley Manson, a math teacher at Franklin, says that engagement in his class has increased since the policy was instituted, which seems to be the general consensus amongst the teachers interviewed.

Student interactions have grown as well — Losoya says that since the new policy, “The interaction between classmates is so much more than it has been in the years past. It’s fun to hear and fun to see.” Brian Cape, a Franklin health and physical education (PE) teacher, notices that his students are happier and more engaged, adding that his health class curriculum involves a lot of interaction between students and that the new policy helped to “remove a major barrier to that.” Cape also says that he “truly believe[s] that class discussions and social interactions are among the most important aspects of school, especially now with the increase in technology.”

Greg Garcia, a Franklin psychology and history teacher also believes cell phone use can damage student-teacher relationships. He says that when students are looking at their devices at unauthorized times while he is teaching, that tells him “that what [he] has to offer them, something to improve their skills, is not worth their time.” Many teachers also notice that there is a decrease in students skipping their classes, and that they see fewer students wandering the hallways during class time.

Davida Jordan, a Franklin parent, the Restaurant Partners Chairperson for the Franklin Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), and a teacher at PCC, mirrors the statements given by many teachers, saying she thinks the current policy is “great.” She expands, saying , “Just physically separating students from their phones while they’re in class […] seems like a good idea.” Naegele also mentions that “[a lot] of parents emailed [her] over the summer in favor of a cell phone policy.”

However, not everyone is happy about the new policy. One anonymous Franklin teacher says that they feel the policy “does not address the root issue.” They believe that if students are using their phones during class it’s because they are lacking something from the lesson being provided. They also add that students use their phones as a safety net, and in an environment they truly feel safe and comfortable in, they wouldn’t need to be on them.

Garcia also thinks that there are some aspects of the policy that could improve. For one, he says that if a student needs to use their phone to take an urgent call from family or an employer he feels it is their right to do so in a polite and unobtrusive manner. He also says that “for matters of liability” he does not make students use the cell phone pouch provided unless leaving the room, otherwise he allows them to keep their devices in their pockets or backpacks. The slight modifications made in his room are “made strictly out of respect for a student’s home life.” Garcia also talks about how with parents who don’t speak English, the “assumption that if it’s that important, [parents] will call the school becomes harmful.” He adds that “Forcing a parent who speaks little to no English to contact the school to convey a message which they could have more effectively sent to their child is also why [his phone policy differs].”

Losoya also says that under certain circumstances, he may let a student take a call — specifically if they tell him beforehand they are expecting one. He also allows students to keep their cellphones away in their backpacks or pockets, but stresses that if students ever stop respecting the rules he will revoke that privilege.

Beyond direct problems with the phone policy itself, many Franklin teachers are interested in physically demonstrating to their students that they are committed to following the policy as well, but are struggling due to district rules. A few years ago, PPS implemented a cybersecurity safety policy requiring teachers to double authenticate when signing in to their accounts. This can be done using either an app on their phone or a district issued device, called a fob. However, the district did not purchase enough fobs for every teacher to have one. Franklin history teacher Rachel Draper finds the reliance of the district on teachers using their personal cell phones for this unreasonable, and says that the district “should be able to provide [every teacher who wants one] a fob.”

Moving forward, Naegele says that next year Franklin will most likely either continue with the same policy or follow in the footsteps of Grant and the like with the implementation of Yondr pouches. The thought of transitioning to Yondr pouches garners varied opinions from teachers. Ortega, for example, thinks that the possibility of traffic jams caused by students attempting to unlock their pouches would be nightmarish. Draper is slightly less opposed — she can understand how the pouches could appeal to teachers struggling with consistently enforcing the current policy. She thinks “it’s different from class to class, some [teachers use] the holders and some don’t.” Naegele says she is also open to other options and stresses her commitment to taking feedback into account when making further decisions.