OISD tests Yondr pouches

Olney High School administrators’ decision to use Yondr pouches to boost students’ engagement with each other and their classes seems to be paying off already, OHS Principal Dr. Matthew Caffey told the OISD Board of Trustees last week.

The Board earlier this year approved the purchase of the fabric pouches, which have a magnetic latch that is opened using a special unlocking base controlled by a teacher.

The pouch can also be unlocked by exiting the “phone free zone.”

Kids retain possession of their phones all day, and they can be unlocked in case of an emergency, the company says.

The system is being used in thousands of schools across 27 countries and all 50 U.S. states.

The pouches cost $25-30 per student. Dr. Caffey said the district’s investment is already showing benefits.

“It’s been really good,” Dr. Caffey told the board. “The kids have been really great about it. There’s been lots of talking at lunch -- with each other.”

“I really thought they would be like drug addicts in withdrawal but they have been really good.”

A Pew Research Center survey last year found that nearly all teens have mobile phones. The survey showed that 72 percent of U.S. teens say they often or sometimes feel peaceful when they don’t have their smartphone; 44 percent say i makes them feel anxious.

Teacher cite phones as a “near-constant source of distraction in the classroom,” according to Education Week.

Teachers also blame the devices for contributing to the mental health crisis among young people, Education Week reported..