Dear Families,

We have adopted an Away for the Day technology policy to start the 2023–24 school year. From 7:35 a.m. to 2:35 p.m., students cannot use personal technology (phones, smart watches, gaming devices, etc.) on campus. *All personal technology must be stored in backpacks as students arrive at school and cannot be out until 2:35 p.m. or once students are off campus. Families can always contact the main office if an urgent message needs to be communicated to students.

This change has become increasingly necessary as more and more students at the elementary level own devices and bring them to school. As you can probably imagine, this trend isn’t particularly helpful for teaching and learning.

Research shows that elementary and middle school students do better with phones away during school hours. Studies show that personal device use in elementary and middle school has many negative impacts: less academic success, less emotional well-being, and less positive social relationships. 82% of parents nationally want cell phones out of schools.

We hope this necessary policy shift will allow teaching staff to focus on teaching and learning rather than managing students’ personal technology.

Thanks for your understanding and support of this change in policy.

In partnership,

Arbor Heights Admin and Staff

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*If a child has a personal technology device out during the school day, an adult will ask them to put it away in their backpack. If the child refuses to put it away or takes the device out later, an adult will ask for the device and will keep it in a safe spot until the end of the school day.