On July 8th, the Leon County School Board held an agenda review/workshop meeting and discussed the Board’s cell phone policy and the Discipline Matrix Guide.
The Board reviewed their Wireless Communication Devices Policy and discussed whether they would want to amend the policy and further restrict high school students from having their phone out during the school day. As of now, the current policy language (that was approved by the Board just this past January) follows state laws which prohibit students from having their cell phones out during instructional time unless they are directed to do so for educational purposes by a teacher.
Superintendent Rocky Hanna brought up potentially amending the policy so that similar to elementary and middle school students, high schoolers would not be permitted to have their phone out while at school.
Chair Rosanne Wood noted that she doesn’t feel comfortable amending the policy until the Board gathers information from parents, teachers and principals. The Board eventually decided to create a focus group to discuss the policy and have the superintendent bring back administrative procedures for enforcing their current policy before school starts.
During the meeting, the Board also reviewed their Discipline Matrix Guide, which is a tool for administrators to respond appropriately when students have committed behavioral infractions. The guide explains what disciplinary actions should be taken based on what the student has done, and is broken up into four main areas, starting with severe consequences which covers offences such as aggravated battery and arson, and ends with informal consequences which covers offences such as inappropriate language and dress code violations.
LCS Agenda Review Addresses Cell Phones, Discipline Matrix added by Tristyn Leigh on
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@David Anyone hits my girl at school and all hell will come out. You can have your child beat at school and home. We use our brains to discipline and have yet to have any behaviour issues. Violence begets violence.
@ Sarah… that’s the whole point. “When parents begin to feel the impact on their work or lazy lives, perhaps they will reevaluate their parenting skills and responsibilities and get with the program.”
It’s time to get government and government bureaucracies out of the way and encourage parents do their job. Rearing your children to follow rules or face the consequences is part of parenting.
Parents are not going to want to go to the schools to pick up their students phone everyday.
One of the most liberal county school districts in the state, Orange, instituted a policy limiting phone use. Students request a pass to go to the office to place a call (like the old days when most of had to do the same). Cell phones are not allowed out at any other time during the school day. Not between classes, not the lunch room, and, of course, not in the classroom. The results have been predictible. After a short time of whining from students (and some parents) violence is way down (students used to create fights for posting on social media), communication (like actual talking) is up, the classroom disruption has been reduced dramatically, and, perhaps most importantly, social media bullying has been reduced. This is lowest of hanging fruit for LCS. Copy the OCS policy and a lot of issues will be resolved.
When my daughter taught a high-school science class in an Atlanta Georgia suburb, I built a multi-compartment box that she used to house cell phones. Her students referred to it as the “cell phone jail.” As the kids entered the classroom they placed their phones in the “jail” and plugged them in to be charged.
During her classes the kids paid attention, were not distracted by phone messages and may have even learned something. Imagine that, kids actually learning in a public high-school classroom.
Where is our District 4 Republican (who supports Rocky- who masked our kids) Lori Cox? She has been absent the last two meetings and has offered zero proposals in her first two years in office. You can’t be for diverting funds to privatization of schools and say the status quo is “great”. The voters are watching and we are gonna loose this seat as fast as we got it.
CELL PHONES: Put Signs up all around the Schools that say, “No Cell Phone Use during School Hours or risk losing it for Two Days” and send notices to the Parents.
DISIPLINE: For 3rd Grade to 8th Grade, Hang a Paddle by the Chalk Board and USE IT. That’s how it was done when I was in School and believe me, the Teachers rarely needed to use it, Just seeing it was usually enough and the few times the Teacher did use it, the Kids got the message. When Kids acted up in Class, the Teacher would stand up, grab the Paddle and wave it at the Kids acting up and threaten to Paddle each one, the Kids sat down and behaved. When it was time to use it, the Teacher would call the misbehaving Student to the front of the Class and have them lean over and grab her Desk as she gave one or two swats with the Paddle. Knowing that the Teacher would actually use the Paddle was usually all it took for 90% of the School Year in that Class.
1. The existing policy on cell phones is rooted in common sense and sufficient. The problem is lack of enforcement. As always, and as is also the case with illegal immigration, enforce the existing policies (and laws). The longer you avoid enforcement, the harder it will be to secure adherence.
2. As for disciplinary responses, the first action should be to CALL THE PARENTS and require their immediate presence. If there is a clear violation of the law, CALL LEO’s and THE PARENTS. When parents begin to feel the impact on their work or lazy lives, perhaps they will reevaluate their parenting skills and responsibilities and get with the program.
Schools are neither daycare nor social development centers. This is why the Federally-controlled Public Indoctrination System is failing our children and society.