Cell-Phone-Free School Day

Dear White Salmon Valley School District Staff, Students, and Families,

As we all look forward to the beginning of another school year, I want to provide an update on an important change regarding students' use of cellphones during school hours. While cell phones and personal electronic devices have a certain utility in our lives, current research shows that their use during school hours can, and often does, distract from and disrupt student learning. Moreover, the detrimental health effects associated with excessive screen time, including anxiety, sleep disturbances, and reduced attention span, further highlight the need for this change.

As such, the White Salmon Valley School District is moving toward a cell-phone-free school day. The basic purpose is part of our efforts to continually optimize student learning and promote a healthy, positive environment for everyone at the school site. This new policy will be carefully monitored and refinements will be implemented, as needed. The basic guidelines are outlined below.

At Henkle Middle School, Wallace and Priscilla Stevenson Intermediate School, and Whitson Elementary School, students are not allowed to use cell phones or personal devices during the school day for any reason. If a student needs to bring a phone for safety reasons, it must remain off and their device is to be stored securely in their locker, or turned into the main office upon arrival at school.

At Columbia High School, students must also keep their phones off during class. Since high school students may need access to their devices for important reasons (like communication with employers, coaches, college recruiters, etc…), Columbia High School staff will work with students and families to create guidelines and a plan to become a fully cell-phone-free environment throughout the entire school day. We believe that with this approach we can achieve our intended outcome to enhance student health and well-being and improve student engagement.

Our district’s strategic plan focuses on four core values of: Student Learning and Growth, Equity, Safety and Wellbeing, Community & Family Partnerships, and Financial and Operational Sustainability. To ensure our school district delivers on these core values for all students, we will increase our efforts to manage the use of personal as well as school-issued devices.

Please watch for more updates from your student’s school regarding our move to a cell-phone-free school day. As we progress this fall, we will also share information and keep families apprised of opportunities to learn more about technology use both at home and school. Below you will find some key information related to school-issued devices.

Thank you for your support.

My best,

Rich Polkinghorn
Superintendent, WSVSD

Key information to know about school-issued device policy, procedures, and practices include:

• All programs, applications and software on school-issued devices have a specific educational purpose.

• WSVSD will develop a scope and sequence for a K-12 digital citizenship curriculum during the 2024-25 school year.

• School-issued devices are stored at school for the elementary, intermediate and middle school levels, and the option to check out devices when needed will be available.

• School-issued devices remain on elementary and middle school classroom carts. Students may access them when directed by their teacher.

• School-issued devices will be used only when they clearly improve the depth of learning or introduce a skill.