Student Voices:
Phone-Free School experience overwhelmingly positive
Thetford Academy students have phones locked during their full school day. They made this video to inspire legislators to pass H54/S21 (Phone & Social Media Free Schools)
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Join us at the State House Feb 26 9am - 1pm
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We are grassroots movement of educators, students, parents, grandparents, health care providers, legislators, and neighbors advocating for a phone and social-media free school day for all Vermont schools. These policies increase academic focus, improve mental health and cultivate stronger social cohesion.
Increase academic
focus
72% of high school teachers report that cell phones are a major distraction in the classroom. Common Sense Media found that teenagers receive a median of 273
texts or other notifications a day, with nearly a quarter coming during school hours.² Some students get up to 4500 daily.
Improve mental health
"I can breathe again," a student at Thetford Academy told her principal early into this school year's phone-free school day.
Increase social cohesion
Phone-free schools notice more face-to-face conversations.
Cases of bullying (a big drain on staff time) tend to decrease by nearly 50%. One VT school saw HHB cases (hazing, harassment, and bullying) go down 77% in their first phone-free semester!
LATEST NEWS
On Jan. 29, 2025 Rep. Angela Arsenault introduced the Phone and Social Media-Free Schools bill (H.54) to the House Committee on Education. She did a great job explaining why this is so urgent even while we wrestle with the big question of education funding in VT. It's very informative and inspiring. Click here to play the video.
