New Phone Use Policy at GCDS

Mrs. Collins putting the phone into a phone bin for the remainder of the school day.

Photo credit: Jackson, 9th grade

The students are going to hate this.

— Dr. DeTeso, School Psychologist

The phone policy, which restricts phone usage during the school day, has been a heated subject of debate amongst students and faculty alike. Since there were no rules in relation to cell phones prior to the 2021/22 school year, the new rules were a shock to high school students in the GCDS community. 

Denisa, a junior, said that the policy was a “horrible decision.”

Rihanna, a freshman, commented, “For students, they might think it’s a negative addition because they wanna text their friends or check social media or something like that.” 

Denisa described how this new rule has been bad for communication. She noted that when she needs to tell her mom something, it feels impossible to get a hold of her and send a message because of this rule. Denisa explained, “If I need to text my mom…I don’t want to have to walk outside and find the nearest exit…that’s just such a waste of time.” Denisa feels that having phones does not affect connections and that it should be allowed again, at least for upperclassmen. 

Much like Denisa, freshman Celeste describes her belief that as communication becomes more difficult for students, the policy is “a little too strict sometimes.” Celeste further explains that not being able to use her phone prevents her from communicating with her teachers: “When I’m trying to text my teachers…I can’t whip out my phone and g-chat them about missing class or like going to a soccer game.” As the policy interferes with her ability to communicate with teachers, she says, “I feel like you should be able to check your phone for academic purposes.”

Sophomore Ava (right) shows a phone to her friend behind a computer screen.

Photo credit: Carolina, 11th grade

Dr. Winters, Head of the Upper School and one of the creators of the policy explained why this policy was implemented this year rather than prior years. He said that, “[the GCDS administrators] are trying to find the right balance between helping students use their phones appropriately and eliminating them as distractions,” they have changed the phone use rules in minute ways with each passing year. Dr. Winters also said that “we will probably tweak it again next year” — dotting i’s and crossing t’s as time goes on. 

We will probably tweak it again next year.

— Dr. Winters, Head of Upper School

When asked about the intention of this policy, he said, “First… I wanted to create an environment where students can free their minds of the distractions that accompany cell phones, at least for a few hours a day.” Dr. Winters also spoke about the second intention —more of a goal— of limiting phone use. “Optics: We have students applying to GCDS and their parents taking tours of the building. It is not a welcoming scene to see large numbers of students sitting near each other and yet only staring at screens.”

Mr. Ramirez (left) caught a student with a phone in class.

Photo credit: Teddy, 11th grade

School psychologist Jeff DeTeso recalled that when he was told of the upcoming cell phone rule, he reacted by saying, “the students are going to hate this.” However, when asked about the long-term impacts the new rules could have, his response was supportive. Dr. DeTeso said, “Everybody knows my opinion on technology; the impact of social media and the impact technology has on what technology does to the brain…I think there’s more downside to the phone than upside.” He explained that phones can cause dopamine dumps when people use their phones and how the dopamine dump can cause the brain to become reliant on the phone as a source of dopamine, creating an addiction to scrolling up and down. In terms of the potential stress that can come from not having phones, Dr. DeTeso shared the same opinions as students in the sense that the lack of communication privileges can be stressful — taking away a“built-in social support system.” On the flip side, he thought that reducing phone use in school could promote the building of social skill sets that some students may not build as easily if the policy were not intact.

While at the moment there do not seem to be any alterations in the works, students, along with Dr. Winters are confident that the policy will be refined with time. As of right now, the only thing that can be done is wait.