Cell Phone Pouch Program has positive impact on Calaveras Hills High School students

In teacher Megan Bence’s credit recovery class September 3, her students are hard at work on their Chromebooks. On their desks right next to the laptops, each student has a gray Yondr pocket sleeve. Magnetically locked inside are their cell phones.

This is just one piece of the Calaveras Hills Cell Phone Pouch Program, which allows students to earn extra productivity points to help speed up their credit recovery by volunteering to lock up their devices during class time.

“They stay focused on their work and communicate with each other more,” said Bence of the immediate impacts the cell phone program has on her students.

Bence is a Government and Economics teacher for Calaveras Hills and also teaches credit recovery courses for Alternative Education students.

“There’s a noted difference between the kids who choose to lock up their phones and those who choose not to do it,” Bence added.

For 16-year-old senior Kiki Roberts, the program has been beneficial in more ways than one. Roberts is one of a handful of Cal Hills students who chooses to opt in as it is not a requirement for any of her classes.

“It does definitely have an impact. I use my phone less. It saves my battery. Even when I’m at home, I use it less,” said Roberts, after she unlocked her phone from its pouch at dismissal in the front office Sept. 6. “In class, it makes me focus more (not having my phone). I have nothing else to do besides my (class) work.”

Roberts admits it was hard at first to get used to not having access to her cell phone during the school day. But she says it is worth it, especially since she’s earning credits and on track for graduation.

This is the second year of the voluntary program, according to Calaveras Hills Principal Carl Stice. The school currently rents the Yondr pocket sleeves ($25 each for entire year) and a locking-unlocking device. There are more than 20 students who participate in the program this year with the option for all students to opt-in to earn the extra credits.

Each morning, students come to the front office to check in, pick up a pocket and lock up their cell phone. They carry the gray sleeve with them throughout the school day and, at the end of their class schedule, they return to the office to unlock the pocket.

“We are finding that our students are more productive when they do it,” said Stice, who continues to roll out the Cell Phone Pouch Program to his students on a voluntary basis.

Stice added that his staff is currently in the data collecting phase to get hard numbers on the positive effects of the program. However, he’s already seen a change in the culture at Cal Hills, where students are no longer glued to their cell phones in and out of class.

During the 2018-19 school year, 15 students helped pilot the program. This year, student participation has steadily increased because they are learning how it can speed up their credit recovery.

“Last year, it was totally voluntary. This year, we made it a requirement for our Engineering classes,” Stice said.

Additionally, any student who is eligible for the Cal Hills Student Accelerated Honors Program (which means they were nominated and supported by a teacher) must lock up their cell phones each day. 

"For seniors especially, who need rapid credit recovery, this is a great option for them. But they need to step up to the challenge,” Stice said. “We tell them, ‘You really need these credits. The one requirement is to use the pouch.’”

Even parents grow accustomed to the program. Instead of texting their children while they are in class, they call the office with any information that needs to be passed along to the student. Cal Hills staff lets them know at enrollment about the option for accelerated credit recovery.

“Parents can call the school if there’s an emergency and we can relay that message to the student or have them come to the office to unlock their device,” Stice said.

The program has really taken off at Cal Hills. Besides the in-class benefits, Stice explained that there are more conversations between students during lunch and it has made many realize how addicted they are to their cell phones.

​“How many times a day do you reach for your cell phone?” Stice asked. “We even had one girl say she didn’t need the credit recovery but wanted to do it anyhow because it was going to help her regardless.”