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Two weeks into the school year, Manhattan school social worker Jessica Chock-Goldman spotted about 20 students huddled in the courtyard during lunch. Her first thought: a student had smuggled in a cellphone.
As part of New York’s statewide ban on personal internet-enabled devices, Bard High School Early College had just rolled out its cellphone collection policy, and Chock-Goldman was prepared for students to test its limits.
She approached the group and made a surprising discovery. They were marveling at a baby bird nestled inside of a plant.
She called it the “perfect fairy-tale story example” of how the cellphone ban has opened up new opportunities for students to engage with the world and with each other.
“It’s truly more socializing than I’ve seen in my 10 years working in a high school,” she said.
As students adapt to the “bell-to-bell” ban on cellphones in schools, parents, educators, and mental health workers have already noticed benefits — from stronger social connections and improved focus to fewer fights and incidents of bullying.
Still, not all students are on board with the changes, and adults are working to support them through the transition, figuring out ways to better respond to their emotional needs and trying to shift their mindset by using language like “cellphone free” instead of “cellphone ban” to emphasize students’ freedom from their devices.
“The word ‘ban,’ the word ‘don’t,’ the words ‘take away’ — kids don’t want to hear that. Even as adults, we don’t want to hear that,” said Whitney Walton, a social worker and professional development facilitator at Counseling In Schools, a nonprofit that places mental health professionals in New York City schools.
KIPP NYC College Prep High School in the Bronx began enforcing its own “bell-to-bell” ban on cellphones in 2023. Instead of calling it a ban, the school used the term “electronic free zone” and reinforced it with regular student check-ins.
“I would just ask them, ‘Well, what do you think? How do you think the cellphone-free zone has shifted?’” Principal Monica Samuels said.
At first, students were quiet, but over time, they became more vocal about the benefits, she said, especially in the classroom.
Abrielle, a 17-year-old senior, said she has developed a better relationship with her teachers.
“ Sometimes when I was confused and I wasn’t sure, I would search it up on my phone, but now I just ask my teachers,” she said.
Highlighting these kinds of positive outcomes will be key to a smoother transition, said Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, executive director of Counseling In Schools. He urged adults to “put the emphasis on freedom” and help students see the opportunities that come from being less tied to their devices.
City and state leaders have already made an effort to focus on the positive aspects of the new law. Recently, New York City Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos described banning cellphones as creating “distraction-free zones.”
And Gov. Kathy Hochul unveiled “Frankie Focus,” a fuzzy, neon-green mascot, during an appearance at a Brooklyn middle school as part of her ongoing campaign to promote the ban.
“He is very focused on learning in school, focused on the teachers, focused on making friends,” Hochul said about the mascot.
Despite these and other efforts to make the ban more palatable to students, some still don’t like it.
“It’s kind of bad, honestly,” said Danny Diaz, a sophomore at A-Tech High School in Brooklyn.
Danny said the school day drags on now without access to personal devices.
“It can get boring sometimes … to socialize because you have nothing to talk about,” the 15-year-old said.
Schools work to ease communication fears about cellphone ban
Many schools are collecting and storing phones, while others let students keep their devices locked in cloth Yondr pouches. Some of the city’s largest high schools have opted for velcro pouches, including Stuyvesant, Brooklyn Tech, Townsend Harris, and Edward R. Murrow High School. These less expensive options block the internet but don’t have locks. Other schools allow students to store their devices in their own lockers.
According to the Department of Education, roughly 820 schools are using pouches, about 600 employ some type of storage bin, and approximately 550 rely on classroom collection methods.
Under the new law, schools must explain how students, families, and schools can communicate in the event of an emergency.
KIPP NYC College Prep uses DeansList, a system it relied on before the ban. Murrow and Townsend Harris use a messaging system called GAMA (Townsend Harris also uses Jupiter), and Brooklyn Tech uses the NYC Schools Account app.
Some schools, like Beacon High School in Manhattan, have delayed implementation of the ban as they work through logistical concerns.
“[W]e first need time to build the communication systems that ensure student and parent comfort,” Principal Jeannie Ferrari wrote to teachers and families before the start of the school year.
As Beacon rolls out its cellphone policy later this fall, the school will use the Kinvo texting app, which allows parents to stay in touch with staff and receive important messages. Beacon’s main office landline and school email will also remain available.
Beacon’s principal did not respond to an interview request.
Chock-Goldman, Bard Manhattan’s social worker, said this fall is a transition for parents as well as students.
“I do think a lot of this is parent anxiety,” she said. “ I do believe schools have the ability to be in touch with parents if anything happens.”
Walton said cellphones often function as modern-day “transitional objects” — not unlike stuffed animals that children may hold close as they gain independence or cope with stressful life events.
She said she’s noticed some schools take that into account in their rollout of the policy. For example, some are encouraging students to decorate their Yondr pouches.
Allowing KIPP students to carry their cellphones — even though they are locked in Yondr pouches — helped ease the transition not just into a phone-free school but also back to in-person learning after COVID, Samuels said.
“ Initially it was like a security blanket. And I understand because they were required to be on screen for a year-and-a-half, so it was a big shift for them,” she said.
Two years into the ban, Samuels said the changes didn’t come without challenges.
“We collected hundreds of burner phones the first year,” Samuels said, laughing.
One student even charged classmates a dollar to unlock pouches using a gadget, she said, prompting staff to communicate and enforce clear consequences.
KIPP senior Yaovi, 17, said that transition to a phone-free school wasn’t easy at first.
“I didn’t know what to do with the free time that I had when I wasn’t on my phone,” he said.
But over time, he noticed he was earning better grades and developing stronger friendships.
“Honestly, I would say be patient with it,” he advised other students.
Seyma Bayram is a New York City-based journalist. You can reach her at sbayram@chalkbeat.org.