By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — The School Department is considering joining a pilot program offered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that seeks to curb students’ cellphone and social media use in schools.
Superintendent Kristen Vogel recalled in a recent Smore newsletter sent to families that United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a health advisory “on the effects of social media on teens” in late May.
“The advisory shares research on the negative effects social media and cellphones are having on the emotional well-being and academic performance of our teenagers,” Vogel wrote in the newsletter. “The findings are concerning for all us, both educators and parents.”
In the wake of Murthy’s report, Vogel stated that DESE announced that it is considering implementing new restrictions for cellphones in schools.
“As a district, we have clear expectations around restricting cellphone use during the school day and those expectations are in our District Student Handbook for each school,” wrote Vogel. “However, we know that even with those restrictions, students are accessing their phones and social media many times during the school day.”
Vogel noted that school officials are considering implementing a pilot program that would create “more restrictions on student cellphone use during the school day starting in the fall.”
“The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is offering grant money to districts to pilot one of these programs,” stated Vogel. “We are facing a health crisis for our teenagers, and we are going to need to work together to help our teenagers develop better habits and approaches to cellphone use and social media.”
During a recent School Committee meeting, Vogel recalled that excessive cellphone and social media use has caused anxiety, depression and sleep disorders to increase among adolescents. She said DESE Commissioner Jeffrey Riley discussed the “concerning data” during a Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting.
“It impacts them in their daily lives,” said Vogel during the recent School Committee meeting. “I don’t know a lot of the specifics around this program yet because it is very early, but I did email DESE to express interest. It would probably require that we have to update our cellphone policy at the high school to be more restrictive than it is.”
Vogel noted that some schools require students to lock up their phones in magnetically sealed pouches when they come into school. The Eliot K-8 Innovation School in Boston has implemented this program.
“They get unlocked at the end of the day,” said Vogel. “The students have their cellphones with them, but they can’t use them. I believe that is one of the options for this grant.”
With summer underway, Vogel urged “families to restrict the cellphone use of your children during the day and at night.” She encouraged families to read an article titled “Proper Rest for Teenagers Is a Real Challenge” by Catherine Pearson that was published in The New York Times on May 16.
“I encourage you to read the article and consider implementing some of the strategies that can be put into place at home that support a healthy approach to cellphone use that will carry over into the start of the new school year,” Vogel wrote in the newsletter. “We wish all of our students and families a healthy and restful summer. Get outside, be active, be curious and enjoy!”
— The State House News Service contributed to this report.