NBC Today show highlights Dayton schools’ phone policy for students

The cellphone policy at Dunbar High School was highlighted on a recent episode of the Today show on NBC.

Each morning, students at the school are asked to place their phones in envelopes labeled with their names and grades.

Football coach and language arts teacher James Lacking, part of the morning check-in crew, compared the process to going through the TSA at the airport, with bags, purses and lunch boxes being searched.

Credit: Lynch, Gregory

Credit: Lynch, Gregory

Most students are used to the policy, but some students try inventive ways to sneak in their phones. Examples shown are cutout in books, phones hidden in potato chip bags and hidden pockets.

Dunbar’s policy is that students get three chances if caught with a phone during school hours. On the fourth time, a parent has to come to the school to get the phone back. And after the fifth time it is a two-day suspension.

School leaders at the Dayton public school district decided to ban cellphones from all middle and high school campuses and as the school year comes to a close, they’re already seeing improvements in reading, math and social interaction between students. @vickynguyentv reports. pic.twitter.com/GIzESsVzHd
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) May 22, 2024

Ten states now have introduced or passed bills to ban the devices. The piece shows a clip of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine stated that he believes that is the right decision.

Administrators at Dunbar say that “constant notifications” are a problem in the classroom, interrupting “the whole process” of learning.

A group of four Dunbar students are interviewed by Today show reporter Vicky Nguyen in the video, with them all saying their mental health is better without the cellphones,

Credit: Lynch, Gregory

One student said he didn’t originally see the reasons for taking away cellphones, but now sees the benefit from it.

Some parents have pushed back, saying the should be able to reach their children in the case of an emergency, but

Dr. David Lawrence, Dayton Public Schools Superintendent, had a response to those parents.

“There have been emergencies throughout the history of school. We’ve always done a good job of being able to prepare for emergencies and then contact parents in a way that’s meaningful and pretty swift based on the emergency,” he said.