Listen in as we discuss one of the year’s hottest topics—our school district’s new cell phone policy. This policy, designed to boost student well-being and academic focus, limits smartphone use during the school day. Earlier this year, our school board chair and a student representative shared insights as the policy was taking shape. Now that it’s in full effect, we’re hearing directly from those experiencing it day-to-day. Lake Oswego High School Principal Kristen Colyer and student Taylor Hefner reflect on the policy’s impact on classrooms and school life. Tune in for a fresh perspective on the early days of this policy, including some surprising adjustments and benefits as students and staff adapt to cell phones off and away during the school day.
Dr. Jennifer Schiele, Superintendent, LOSD
Mary Kay Larson, Executive Director of Communications, LOSD
Kristen Colyer, Principal, Lake Oswego High School
Taylor Hefner, Student, Lake Oswego High School
LOSD Policy JFCEB - Personal Electronic Devices and Social Media
MICHELLE ODELL:: [00:00:00] Welcome to Learning in Lake Oswego, a podcast providing educational insights for an engaged community. Lake Oswego School District Superintendent, Dr. Jennifer SCHIELE, will discuss what's important to our learning community. She'll be joined by experts examining various topics, answering important questions, and sharing upcoming events and activities you won't want to miss.
And now, it's your host. Lake Oswego School District Executive Director of Communications, Mary Kay Larson.
MARY KAY LARSON:: Hello everyone, welcome back to Learning in Lake Oswego. I'm your host, Mary Kay Larson, here with our superintendent, Dr. Jennifer SCHIELE. Each year, certain themes capture our attention, and one of the big themes this year is our district's new cell phone policy.
In August, we had our school board chair and student rep join us finalizing this policy. Now that it's officially in place, we thought it'd be a great time to check in with our staff and students who are living it day to day. [00:01:00] Today we're thrilled to have Kristen Collier, our Lake Oswego High School principal, and Taylor Heffner, a junior at the school, join us and share their experiences with this new policy.
But before we jump in with our guests, I'd like to ask Dr. SCHIELE to give us a quick overview.
DR JENNIFER SCHIELE:: Thanks so much, Mary Kay. Our new cell phone policy began this year, and it's pretty straightforward. All personal devices, like smartphones, smartwatches, earpods, need to be turned off and put away from the first bell until dismissal.
That covers class time, passing periods, and even lunch. If a phone is seen or heard, it'll go to the front office until the end of the day. There are exceptions for health, safety, or emergencies. with prior approval, or if specified in a student's IEP, IHP, or 504 plan. With this policy, we're aiming to reduce distractions and keep students more engaged and boost their well being.
It sounds simple [00:02:00] enough, but why do you think this policy is getting so much attention? It's true, we're one of the first districts to make this change across all grade levels. But, we probably won't be the last. There's growing research, even from the Oregon Department of Education, on how cell phones impact young people's development and well being.
Speaker 2: One more question, Jen, before we have our guests on. Other schools use bags or lockers to support cell phone restrictions, but we decided to keep it pretty straightforward. Can you explain the thinking behind that decision? Jen.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. We wanted to start with clear expectations and strong communication without those extra tools, which can sometimes create more work for staff and have a hefty price take that, to be honest with you, I'd rather spend on additional teachers.
We want students to have the skills and respect for their learning time to manage it on their own. Great.
Speaker 2: Well, let's hear from our guests now on the day to day implementation of this new policy. I'll turn it over to Kristen Collier.
Speaker 3: Welcome to [00:03:00] the show, Kristen. Could you please tell us about your journey in education?
What brought you to Lake Oswego School District and specifically to Lake
KRISTEN COLYER:: Oswego High School? Sure, thank you for having me today. This is my 28th year in education. I spent 20 years as an elementary school teacher, 2 years in HR, and then 3 years at Lakeridge as an assistant principal. And this is my 4th year at Lake Oswego High School.
Wow, you
Speaker 3: have a lot of experience and very happy to have you here. Please share what implementing our cell phone policy looks like day to day right in your
Speaker 4: school. So from the very beginning we spoke as a staff on how we had to be consistent throughout the building. So when teachers came back, we introduced the new cell phone policy.
And then said, okay, in our classes, here's what it's going to look like. We're taking away the ability to put them in pockets and the message was going to be clear and simple off and away all day, backpacks, no pockets. We had signage at the front [00:04:00] door and then we were very consistent from day one when students walked in to the building, we.
I kept the same message going and my teachers found success with it, as my students have too. That's great.
Speaker 3: How are teachers and staff helping to make sure that
Speaker 4: this policy is being followed? The main theme is being consistent, so they, even though it's hard, like I had a teacher today say, oh I took a phone and it's so hard to do that, but I did it.
Just all in together, right, so that a kid has that same message, so that they understand that, okay, no matter who I go see. The message is the same, whether I'm walking into the library, I'm walking down the hall. A classroom, a bathroom, we have the same message so that we are better together. I think that's a theme for the district and I know that for us in our building, that certainly helps.
Speaker 3: Consistency is so good for students, so that's great. What impact have you noticed on students focus or academic performance?
Speaker 4: Well, it has had a tremendous impact in so many ways. It's [00:05:00] obviously the ways that we. So students are more focused in class. They have less distractions. They're not leaving class as often, because, you know, we would call it scrolling in the building.
So, one kid would be in our art wing, would find a friend in the English wing, someone from science came down, and magically they were all together. So, our hallways are, Not as busy with students leaving class, so in class or more focused and speaking with my teachers, they talk about students having eye contact with their peers, with their teachers, having genuine conversation with one another.
In the very beginning, one of the things that we didn't realize was how loud. Our building was going to become and we call it beautifully noisy in the halls because there's just so much noise and it's kids having conversation and laughing and that's something we haven't heard in a long time in our building is genuine conversation and laughter.
So, It's a win for sure.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. It sounds like they're engaging very differently with each other throughout the day. Do you [00:06:00] see anything else at lunch or passing periods that's new for you?
Speaker 4: At lunch, one of the things that we've noticed is students, instead of sitting in a line against their lockers, since our students can sit anywhere to eat lunch, they're sitting in a circle, right?
That natural, let's come together as a group and have conversation. We have kids Playing UNO. And so actually for Halloween, a bunch of us dressed up as UNO cards to recognize students doing that board games, chess, and there's just a lot of activity that is focused on being social, which is an interesting, spin from us thinking, oh, students were being social by being on their cell phones, on social media.
And we learned really quickly that, as adults we knew, but kids are learning that being social really means to be present. And in talking with my students, a lot of them have commented about lunch being more fun because they're engaged with their, their peers. It's wonderful. Yeah,
Speaker 3: I love all of that.
Yesterday I was at your school, as you know, and I was visiting with some of [00:07:00] the students and the superintendent student council and, and one of the students brought up this idea of not having cell phones. We had quite a long discussion about it. And one of the things that the downside of of maybe not having cell phones was that this particular student had said, I like to be able to take pictures of my friends.
And so like, we're having this amazing game or card game or activity and we want to all take a picture, but we can't because we don't have the cell phone there. And I introduced them to digital cameras. I was like, Hey, did you know that there's these little things called digital cameras and they work like a phone and you could have that.
So you could still get those pictures taken that you want. But at the same time not have her cell phone out. And they were kind of amazed by this idea. I'm like, you can get them on Amazon for like 30 these days. So she's like all into getting one of these cameras so that she could take pictures, which I thought was really adorable.
What other feedback have you heard from students on this change? And are they, I mean, are they feeling less stressed or maybe even a little less anxious?
Speaker 4: Yes. In fact, when you talked [00:08:00] about taking pictures, it made me think of some comments I've heard recently. One of them that I didn't realize was how anxious our students were to be at school in fear of someone taking a picture of them and then posting it on social media without their knowledge.
Knowing that we have now provided that safe space, because they can walk down the hall and not be fearful or they can be in class and not be fearful. That's pretty amazing that, knowing we've, that we're helping them feel more comfortable and less anxious. I was speaking to a parent yesterday who had noticed his daughter, He's dressing differently, going from wearing really baggy clothes to wearing a skirt and things like that.
And he asked her, like, why are you dressing differently this year? And she said to him, Dad, I'm not afraid of someone taking my picture at school because of what I'm wearing. And I can just be myself. And so, knowing that we're, our students are allowed to be themselves, because we've taken away what we thought was just a distraction, you know, in the classroom, but So [00:09:00] many layers that we weren't aware of.
Yes, for sure, the anxiety. Also, we noticed this year that in previous years, like a test day would come and it's like, okay, it's second period. I'm gonna have my parent call me out for third period, text them really quick so I can miss my test, and then come back for fourth period. We have way less students leaving During a test day, because they're anxious now they can't get a hold of their parents unless it's prearranged or something like that.
So there's no quick decision to to leave the building to avoid something. So less avoidance too.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I can totally see where, you know, the anxiety around whether or not you're included in something or not included in something and whether or not you have to check it immediately. It just seems like that all goes away when you don't have your phone with you all the time.
A hundred percent. But I recognize that there's a ton of challenges in this too. So what have been the biggest challenges that you see in enforcing this kind of policy?
Speaker 4: The challenges of enforcing is It's really just being consistent, right? Like yesterday, [00:10:00] I took a phone from a kid and he's like, come on, Mrs.
Collier. And I'm like, sorry, I have to treat every kid the same way. I need your phone. So that's one of the challenges. We've had some students say, oh, I need it for this reason, this reason, and we just help students. Like, so any student that has a health. I need it for health. It's noted on as on their synergy.
There's a little phone icon so they can still have it. But what does it mean to have it right? It's often a ways in your backpack and and you're not playing games on it. So there's some challenges that way. Some unexpected challenges was how much stuff We relied on the phones to do things in class, like in our science classes, taking pictures of whatever we're seeing in there or like in our art classes.
So there's ways we're getting around that and learning new technology or finding iPads and actually our art is using digital cameras. Instead of cameras from their phones. So we're learning. Another challenge was if a kid didn't need a call home They're like, I don't know my parents phone number.
It's like, oh my gosh. I [00:11:00] Remember my home phone number like the back of my hand, right? But so like, okay, let's figure out your parents phone number And then I think one of the fun things has been teaching students how to use a landline The kids like there's this tone that's there. I'm like, that's the dial tone.
You have to dial mine and Yeah, so It's been fun that way to teach kids new skills.
Speaker 3: That's great. And even on the landlines, you have to push nine first. You have to do all those other things that probably don't make any sense to a student. You mentioned health and safety. Are there clear guidelines for any exceptions?
And then how do you handle those things?
Speaker 4: So the guidelines are spelled out in the policy, you know, for health reasons or they can check in with the principal. So we have anyone that is needing to have a cell phone checks in with our counselor and you know, whatever reason, then there's a panel of us that are like, yes, that's a legit reason.
And if it's a reason like, oh, my kid just needs it, then we've had further conversation with the parents. I'm like, okay, here's all the ways you can get in [00:12:00] touch with your student during the day, right? You can email. You can call the front office and, you know, we were really proactive in the beginning with our newsletters to put out, okay, if you need to get ahold of your student, email, here's the front office phone number.
We changed our, when people call in, they can pick different options, attendance. We used to have just someone answering it and now it's a little more intuitive that way, so it's more user friendly for the person on the outside calling for their student.
Speaker 3: You kind of mentioned parents there and working with them.
How have parents responded to this new policy? Any common concerns or points of support?
Speaker 4: There's been overwhelming support for it. They wanted it just as much as we did, but they like that. We're the ones enforcing it, right? So that they can say, well, it's the school. And I like that they're partnering with us.
I got quite a few very supportive emails in the beginning right when we first started it and then. For us, if a kid has a cell phone a couple times and they get caught with it, then the parent has to come pick it up. And undoubtedly, when the parent [00:13:00] comes and picks it up, they're like, I'm not picking it up again.
So if you take your phone out and they'll say it in front of the kid, it's the schools for like a week. You know, we keep them in a safe place locked up, very supportive from the parents. And, and really for our students, when they do get their phone confiscated, we're not trying to do a catcher, you know, we, we have conversation as to the why, like here's why we're not allowing cell phones, increased attention, you're doing better in your classes.
It's a safer feeling for everyone. We're not just out there grabbing phones and. I'm running to the office with them. We're having that conversation so students have a better understanding.
Speaker 3: Sure. And that's exactly what it looks like when I'm walking the halls at Aloha. I mean, kids are talking, no one's on their phone.
It was actually amazingly surprising how compliant our amazing, fantastic kids are. So finally, what message would you like to share with students and families about helping make this change or continue this change and successful? I
Speaker 4: think the first message is that Thank you, right? Because we're in this together, that [00:14:00] really helps it be successful.
So thank you for the partnership with our students and our parents and our community. And we just need to continue to do what we're doing because it's working. I'm excited to see what our grades look like. We just finished quarter one, so that we can say, hey, here's some data that we can show on how it's doing.
So we're only as good as the people helping us. Make it happen. So just continuing all of the work that we've put in it and I hope other school districts around us Do this as well. We've had a really positive positive results for our building in our community Yeah, thank you
Speaker 3: so much for everything you're doing.
We have had a lot of positive media attention Even made it on good morning america, which is pretty amazing. Yeah, that was fun Thank you so much for everything and thanks for being on the show today All right,
Speaker 4: and thank you for your support with the board and this policy.
Speaker 3: Absolutely Hi, Taylor. Thanks for being on the show.
Of course. Thank you for having me. Could you please tell us a little bit about yourself? What school you attend? What grade you're in? And your [00:15:00] favorite subjects? And maybe what do you enjoy doing outside of class as well? I
Speaker 5: go to Lake Oswego High School. I'm a junior there. My favorite class right now is AP Lang.
I know it's supposed to be like, super hard in an evil class, but I really like my teacher and the people I have. And I am a varsity captain for the cheerleading team here, and that's what I spend a lot of my time. And it's really my favorite thing ever. I love it so much.
Speaker 3: That's fantastic. And you all are doing so well.
I was at the game on Friday night and you cheered them to victory in a downpouring, what felt like a tsunami to me. So, that's awesome that you guys are still out there cheering them on.
Speaker 5: Thank you so much.
Speaker 3: So Taylor, we're here to talk about cell phones, as you know. So from your perspective, how's the new cell phone policy working out?
I honestly
TAYLOR HEFNER:: think it's working out really well. I know a lot of people don't like it because [00:16:00] it's kind of like, oh, like, I want to have TikTok time, like at lunch, like while I'm eating or like watch a show. But it kind of forces people to like, get out of their comfort zone and like talk to each other and like There's a lot more dialogue between students There's less drama between people because they're actually communicating with each other instead of doing it behind each other's backs through their phones
Speaker 3: Yeah, I love that.
And although I'm sure TikTok can be fun, you know, I'd much rather have our students talking to each other and, you know, watching each other do fun things during the day, like playing games and playing cards and things like that. Have you noticed any differences in how you or other students focus on class time?
Your
Speaker 5: phone is not a resource that you have anymore. When you're in class, if you have a question, you have to talk to other students. Like, you can't go on your phone and ignore the fact that you're confused and kind of push it away. You have to communicate with your teachers. You have to focus in class.
You don't have the opportunity to go and [00:17:00] be on your phone and, like, figure it out by yourself. You have to learn how to communicate with other people.
Speaker 3: Yeah, so kids are interacting more with each other. Mm hmm. So what's that feel like for you? Like, what's that been like in class?
Speaker 5: It feels really good. Like, the school environment has definitely changed since last year.
Cause I felt like, for me, my phone, like, That was the reason for a lot of my stress last year, with just like, like somebody could text you something mean and then it ruins your whole day. Like, nobody's saying it to your face like it's just in your head and nobody else knows that it happened and now that's not there.
And even people from other schools, they can't communicate with you and ruin your day, like, you have the control of your own day. And when you don't have your phone as this wall, kind of, it's You're left to have support, and I honestly think it's been really, really helpful, stress wise.
Speaker 3: Taking control over your own [00:18:00] day is so fantastic.
Our kids are so smart, and they can do it on their own, and we don't need all this outside distractions, especially stress when it comes to people saying things that may or may not be mean, but may be important. Interpreted mean and then like you said just totally changes your whole day and you may have a test or you may have an important lab to do and now it's all you can think about.
So that is the reason why the research says what it says is that it's not good for kids, especially during the school day when we have other things we want you to be working on. Yeah. So what are your friends saying? Like what are other juniors at L. O. High School saying about this change. I said positive, negative, mixed.
What's, what's the word on the street? A lot of my friends
Speaker 5: really don't like it. Mainly for the reason because they can't communicate with their parents. One reason for people with all the stuff that's going on in our country right now [00:19:00] with gun violence, that's a big worry for people. And I know a lot of my friends are very anxious, like I'm a super anxious person too, and like I think about that sometimes, like what if something bad happens and I can't get to my mom.
But, we just need to remind ourselves that we live in a very safe area and all of the staff here, all of the admin, like Officer Sheldon, they're here to protect us and they're here to help us and they're not going to let anything bad happen to us and I think that our school staff is constantly reminding us of that like through their actions, through their words and I think that's kind of a thought in people's heads but then they're like No, like, our school has our backs and they're going to keep us safe.
Speaker 3: It makes me very sad that kids today have to worry about those kind of things. . I'm gonna try not to cry , but it is. That makes me very sad. But you're right, we do have your back, so we are going to keep you safe. I think one of the reasons why we decided on often away and, and cell [00:20:00] phones in backpacks was to give kids that.
little sense of like in a major emergency, I can get to my phone and reach who I need to reach. And so, and we actually had some people who wanted us to get yonder packs and keep phones locked up by magnets. And one of the reasons why we decided this first is because number one, I do think our kids 98 percent of our kids do follow rules and we can do this and still allow people to use phones in a case of an emergency.
So I just didn't feel like we needed to go to the extreme of yonderpacks yet. And I think you all are proving me absolutely right by following the rules and keeping them off and away throughout the day. So I really appreciate you saying that. You know, what are some other hard parts about following this new policy?
Speaker 5: At the beginning of the school year, it was harder because, like, they're used to having their phone in their hand, like, text your friend, like, Oh, come meet me here, like, I'll find you. And now I think one of the big struggles is, like, Finding [00:21:00] people where they are, but now I feel like everybody's come to learn how to memorize people's class schedules, walking your friends to classes, having meeting spots, like Ms.
Collier said, learning your parents phone numbers, all of that. And I think it's helped people, like it's helped people more than it's been a struggle, like we're just learning how to get around it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, we're
Speaker 5: improving your memory without
Speaker 3: even trying. You know, when I was in high school, we didn't have cell phones, obviously.
And so we would have to know where people, you know, what their class period is and where we're going to meet them after class and where, what table we're going to sit at lunch so that we can play our game or do whatever. So that's, what's interesting about all of us old people is that we know that you can live life without cell phones because we did it, but you all have grown up with cell phones.
So it's just. Being with you all the time. So I can certainly see why it would be difficult in the beginning, but I'm glad to hear that most people are getting used to it. What about parents? What have you heard from parents? Are they mostly on board or are [00:22:00] you still hearing some concerns from parents?
Speaker 5: I know my parents really like it.
They like it because of, like, the social aspect, like, all the research that's been done, like, how it's damaging to mental health. But I have heard from a few of my friends parents that they don't really like it for the reason that they can't directly communicate with their child, but also the school makes it really, really easy for parents to contact their kids.
So that's the only thing I've really heard. But otherwise, I think parents love it.
Speaker 3: People probably don't realize that the rotary phones that we have, we have one in every single classroom. So there are so many phones in a high school that they can use to get a hold of their parents at any time. And it is interesting how much parents want to communicate with their kids during the school day.
I mean, we really, I mean, And not only is the phone distracting, a parent texting them all the time is distracting. So we would really like for that not to happen so that they can do what they're supposed to be doing during the day, which is learning.
Speaker 5: Yeah, for sure. So
Speaker 3: [00:23:00] another component of all this is teachers.
Do you see that they're having an easy time handling this new policy? Are they adjusting to class? Are you, are you hearing enough from them about whether or not they like it or not?
Speaker 5: I was just talking to one of my teachers today about this because I read the questions on the email and I was like, I don't really know.
I haven't really taken the time to ask. So I asked and I, I know that they're all really happy with this change because teachers, they do care about us and they show concern. And they've been reading this research and like they see like what type of damage it does. kids, especially like in this period in our lives where we're changing so much and a bunch of things are going on in our lives.
All of the teachers know like, yes, it can be hard like to take a phone away from a student you're really close with, but they all know at the end of the day, it's what's best for us. And they're here not only to teach us science or whatever, but to help us grow as [00:24:00] people.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's fantastic. I really appreciate that.
Thank you so much, Taylor, for being here. We love hearing from our students. You are remarkable. I can't wait to see you. Now this Friday, you're, you don't have a football game this Friday because you guys have a bye, but you'll be back out on the field the next week. So good luck with that. And good luck with all your classes.
And again, thanks for being here today.
Speaker 5: Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2: Thank you, Kristen and Taylor for sharing your experiences. I'm looking forward to following this topic and it'll be really interesting to see where our district and even the state and the country takes this growing trend of keeping cell phones out of schools during the school day.
Before we wrap up, let's talk about where you're going to be, Jen, for the next couple of weeks.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. This week, our LOSD CARES team is hosting a very relevant topic, a parenting workshop called Nurturing Resilient Children on November 14th. All adults in our community are welcome to [00:25:00] join us for an insightful and collaborating evening with our school counselors and social workers, leading a discussion on Nurturing Resilience Children.
In our children using the ideas from Jonathan Heights book, the anxious generation, which by the way, is one of the reasons why we first dove in to the no cell phone policy headfirst, and also real life experiences from our schools. So we're, we're going to explore strategies for supporting our children's emotional well being.
We're also hosting the neighborhood association chairs meeting at River Grove on November 16th. Maintaining that close relationship with the Lake Oswego residents is. so very important to us and opening up our school for this meeting is a great way to showcase what LOSD voters have helped make possible with the absolutely beautiful River Grove Elementary School.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I plan to be at both of those events, the workshop and the Neighborhood Association meeting and I'm looking forward to it. This wraps up today's episode of Learning in Lake Oswego. Next time, Jen and I will provide an inside [00:26:00] look at how a snow day is called with some new developments in our district.
Speaker 3: Until then, keep exploring and stay engaged. Class dismissed.
Speaker: We hope you found this episode informative and helpful. While our discussions are general, we understand each family's experience is unique. If you have specific questions about your child, please contact your school principal. To learn more about the topics we discussed, ask a question, or share ideas for future episodes, please visit LOSDSchools.
org. And remember to like and follow us wherever you get your podcasts. Thank you for engaging with Learning in Lake Oswego. We appreciate your support and look forward to having you with us for our next episode.