Cell Phone Survey - Staff

Dear Colleagues:

Over the past four months, the D303 Cell Phone Advisory Group—consisting of 70 parents, staff, students, and family members—has been collaborating on districtwide procedures covering students’ access to cell phones during the school day. The Advisory Group was created in response to a communitywide call for consistent procedures to limit students’ use of cell phones and other personal, electronic devices in the classroom.

Throughout the meetings of the past four months, we have focused intently on how to create the best classroom environment for students—prioritizing learning, student engagement, and safety.

I very much appreciate the time and the work of the Advisory Group, which has included many hours of meeting together and additional time reading Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness and the U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on social media and mental health. I’m confident that the result is exactly what the Group was charged with providing: procedures that support and balance our academic, social, and emotional expectations for excellence for each student.

The full proposed cell-phone procedures for elementary, middle, and high schools are here. They each begin with the focus on learning and safety. I hope you’ll consider taking the time to look them over and provide your feedback in the attached survey.

Your input will be reviewed by the Advisory Group at its final meeting on Jan. 22, and it will be used to finalize the recommended procedures that go to D303 leadership and the School Board for approval. We expect to implement the new procedures at the start of the 2025-26 school year.

Thank you for your time, and thank you for being a part of D303.

Sincerely,

Dr. Paul Gordon

Superintendent