Greenwich Public Schools

We hope you are having a good summer and are looking forward to the start of the 2024-2025 school year. Today, we would like to provide you with a quick update on an important topic that has been discussed regularly in Greenwich and across the region concerning cell phone and personal devices.

Many families with children at Greenwich Public Schools have concerns about the effects of early and excessive cellphone and social media usage. We have heard your concerns and met with some of our school community leaders on this topic during the summer months. We are extremely grateful to partner with our families, continuing the conversation, and improving the lives of our students.

We are keenly aware of how device usage is impacting the mental health of young people, and we aim to be responsible, supportive, and responsive in all aspects of digital use. In this newsletter, we will share information from the new regulation, starting in September, which officially reaffirms our commitment and consistency throughout the district to responsible use for our students. This regulation was a collaboration with our school administrative team across all 15 buildings.

Greenwich Public Schools prepares students for the world in which they will live upon their graduation from GPS. Technology will be instrumental in the lives of young people as they enter university, work, and career pathways. In an effort to teach responsible digital citizenship, coupled with self-regulation, the district aims to progressively introduce technology through developmental ages to better mitigate disruptions in the teaching and learning environments K-12. This approach also assists students to focus more intently on their learning during the instructional day.

We encourage you to read this newsletter in its entirety and reach out to your building's administration team if you have any questions or concerns.

You are encouraged to not send phones to school with your children. There are ample phones available at the school site for parents to get in touch with the school, or the student to call home. If you feel there is a safety need given unique circumstances, such as walking a long distance to or from school each day, then the phones must be off and away in lockers or backpacks for the duration of the school day.

We encourage you to delay the purchase of any cell phone products as students enter middle school. However, if cell phones are brought to school, they are to be off and away for the duration of the day, either in backpacks or lockers. There should be zero cell phone usage during passing time, lunch, or during instructional blocks. Students may request permission from their teacher or staff member to utilize a phone for taking pictures of notes on the board or other learning strategies, but only with permission for appropriate use.

There should be no cell phones in clothes pockets or on the person. Off and away every day in backpacks or lockers.

If you feel there is a safety need given unique circumstances, such as walking a long distance to or from school each day, then the phones must be off and away in lockers or backpacks for the duration of the day.

If you feel there is a safety need given unique circumstances, such as walking a long distance to or from school each day, then the wearable must be off and away in lockers or backpacks for the duration of the school day.

If there is a medical reason why a student needs a wearable, then you should meet with the administration, who will then acknowledge and approve in coordination with any other resource personnel, such as the nurse, that such wearable is allowed for that student. Examples of this include a student who wears a monitoring device for their heart, blood sugar regulation, insulin dependency, or other critical wearable. If the device requires the use of a cell phone, an implementation plan should be put in place along with the approval of the wearable.

In high school, students are preparing for university and work life. The district believes that self-regulation is an important skill to learn.

GHS will introduce an implementation plan beginning in September 2024, with full implementation beginning the week after the December recess. Consequences for infractions will begin in January.

Phones should be “Away All Day,” unless requested or approved by a supervisory adult. There should be no cell phones out during Open Blocks, lunch, in restrooms, or during instructional time unless approved by the teacher or supervising adult. Appropriate use may be for instructional purposes, such as taking a picture of notes on the board, using instructional apps like decibel meters, lasers, and other useful tools, or a practical use for video recording an experiment, or creating a class project.

Appropriate use is also defined as showing the digital ID’s for entry to the building, for an administrator or staff to check an active schedule, to purchase lunch, or to check out items from the GHS Media Center.

It is understood by GPS that students in high school must learn to self-regulate their cell phone usage before graduating and entering a world in which cellular use is necessary for work and life. However, the nature of progressive use from grades K-12 is to assist young people in learning to socialize more, and look at screens less. It is also understood that GHS students are very busy and activities after school often mean students are on campus or returning from activities after dark. Having a personal cell phone may be seen by parents/guardians as a safety mechanism for their child.

Any inappropriate use of cell phones or other devices will be handled swiftly and in conjunction with the Middle and High School Discipline Code of Conduct grid as established by Greenwich Public Schools for consistent implementation of disciplinary infractions. The Code of Conduct will be found on the main page of your school’s website on or before the first day of school.

Elementary inappropriate use will require administration and parent/guardian communication in accordance with the elementary handbook expectations.

GHS will introduce an implementation plan beginning in September 2024, with full implementation beginning the week after the December recess. Consequences for infractions will begin in January while we focus on redirection and education in the first semester.

At all grade levels, repeated infractions will require the student to turn the phone in at the office and you may need to come to school to retrieve the device.