Warren County Schools have received mixed results from their new phone policy, as distractions in classrooms are down, but unforeseen challenges have emerged. 

Director of Schools Dr. Grant Swallows, addressing the Warren County Commission’s Education Committee Tuesday night, said he spoke with a high school student who said he was initially hesitant about the phone policy, but after the first three days of implementation, the student had seen a notable decrease in distractions. The student also stated the environment of classes seemed calmer without phones. Swallows said reports from teachers at Warren County High School have been highly positive on the policy’s effect on students. 

However, the phone policy has not been without issues, as parents have been struggling with the lack of communication with their children, including Swallows. The director of schools shared his experience with the new policy affecting his ability to communicate with his daughter.

“My daughter didn’t take her phone to school and rode home with a friend,” Swallows said. “She was supposed to get home at 3:15 p.m. but she did not arrive on time as her friend stopped to drop off a few of her other friends before her.

“Normally I would have pulled out my phone and checked where she was, but because she didn’t have her phone I couldn’t do that. However, we were able to figure it out despite the difficulty in communication. So, I get parents’ concern as I’m one of them, but I encourage parents to be patient as we work through this.”

Another issue that has become apparent with the phone policy involves students who previously used their phones as calculators who now are experiencing difficulty learning how to use scientific calculators. Chairwoman of the Education Committee Carlene Brown shared a conversation she had with a local math teacher about the effect of the phone policy on students. 

“I spoke with a math teacher at one of our local schools who said there are no distractions now that phones have been removed,” Brown said. “However, she has found that a lot of students don’t know how to use their calculators and they have had to essentially start all over with them.” 

Despite its mixed reception, Warren County Schools will continue with its implementation of the phone policy and Swallows stated that school officials are working with parents, students and teachers to improve the policy’s procedures going forward.