Seymour High School has banned student cell phone use, and officials say after just over a month they’re seeing positive results.
“Students are reporting that they're talking more with each other and they ever have before,” Principal Jim Freund said.
While it's written on the walls of Seymour High School for classmates to communicate, Freund says he’s changing the way they talk for the better.
“Instantly we noticed a change in the students in the cafeteria,” Freund said.
A month and half into a cell phone ban Freund says students are improving on interpersonal communication and focus in and outside the classroom.
“I didn't realize how much of a distraction it was after the policy happened,” Sukhman Singh said.
Students like Singh are now limited to screen time at a teacher’s direction and if using a classroom app. While Singh admits some students weren’t on board with the changes at first, they’re starting to see the benefits.
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“In class it's a lot easier for the teacher to teach and for me to learn,” Singh said.
Freund says research shows that taking away cell phones is the equivalent of adding five extra days to the school year.
“During school time I would just block it,” Christi Sobin said.
Parents like Sobin say the cell phone ban prevents parents from forcing their kids not to use their phones during school hours. Jennifer Rizos says it will help them be kids again.
“You lose touch with humans and then people are going to forget how to interact with each other except through a computer,” Rizos said.
