Schools tighten rules on use of cell phones use

Greene County schools are cracking down on the use of cell phones and, consequently, texting during school hours.
  The local school board has approved an addition to its policy on electronic devices that states when such equipment can be used and how offenses will be dealt with.
“All electronic communication devices (must) remain turned off and out of sight … (from) … 7:45 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.,“ Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Richter said in a release dated June 9.
According to the new policy, a student caught using a cell phone or other electronic device (between those times) will have the device confiscated. The device will be held in the principal’s office and returned only to the student’s parent(s).
“If a second offense occurs, the device will be confiscated, maintained in the office for 30 days, and then returned only to the student’s parents,“ state Richter.
Superintendent Dave Jeck points out that the former policy required “that devices must be turned off and put away during instructional time. What the school board approved was a definition of instructional hours and the consequences for misuse of the devices.“
  Jeck has said, “Cell phone usage issues were at one time exclusively a high school-middle school problem. Now there are issues on all levels.  We need … a division-wide policy that makes it very clear that usage during the school day is not acceptable and violations will be dealt with sternly.“
  In light of what Jeck has described as several “very unfortunate issues with threatening, disruptive, and other inappropriate text and voice messages,“ leaders began working on the addendum to the school policy.
Administration concerns about electronic communication use have also included cyber-bullying.
Back in March, the Greene County Public School District Safety Committee sponsored a Presentation for Parents on Cyber Bullying at the high school’s performing arts center.
  At that presentation, Dr. Seth Muraskin, outgoing assistant principal at William Monroe High School, defined cyber bullying as: sending offensive messages; distributing derogatory information; posting digitally altered photos; and, tricking people into revealing embarrassing information and forwarding it to others via computers.
School administrators said at that time that while cyber bullying is a growing national concern, it not much of a local concern “yet.“ They also voiced concerns about cheating and about “parents texting kids” during instructional time.
The schools’ decision to try to reign in phone usage during school hours is receiving mixed reactions. 
WMHS Class of 2009 members Chris Acree and Wally Harlow, both of Quinque, find fault with the policy.
  Acree admits the policy is good “because kids will pay more attention in school,“ but he doesn’t like the idea of confiscation.
“It’s an invasion of privacy. You don’t know if they’ll be going through your (messages),“ explains Acree.
Harlow agrees: “They should just write you up. They shouldn’t be able to take the phone away. What’s yours is yours,“ he says.
Rising William Monroe High School senior Kassie Hoffmeister understands administration concerns about electronic devices.
“Constant disruption with the ringing and vibrating during class is the biggest complaint from teachers,“ Hoffmeister wrote recently in a student newsletter, The Dragons Tale.  “Others see it as a possibility of cheating (because) students can text … each other the answers during exam time.“
In her article for the high school’s newsletter, Hoffmeister describes how offenses were dealt with.
“William Monroe teachers are instructed to take the cell phone to the office the first and second time, but then the third time a parent must come and get it,“ she wrote.
Hoffmeister says school officials should take all fats into consideration.
“Although the drawbacks to cell phones in schools outweigh the benefits,“ Hoffmeister said in her article, “it doesn’t mean that they shouldn’t be taken into consideration. When scheduling after school activities and changes in family plans, it can be seen useful to able to contact students on cell phones.“