Reporting by Markys Perry

Written by Lydia Gerety and Caden McGlin

On Sept. 16, staff, students, and community members filed in at the Ankeny Schools District Office to attend the Ankeny Community School District (ACSD) school board meeting. The board spoke about various topics, but most importantly the cell phone policy and technology usage in the classroom. 

The policy states that “Students shall not use Wireless Communication Devices on district property and/or off district property in a district-related context during school hours unless expressly directed to do so by a staff member” (Policy 0502.06).

Currently, Ankeny High School does not allow cell phones during class, but students are able to access them during passing periods, lunch, and open periods. However with the new policy being implemented on Oct. 22, this is subject to change.

“School Hours include lunch periods, passing periods, recesses, and periods during which some – but not all – students may have scheduled classes,” the Respectable Use of Mobile Devices policy states.

Some students have expressed frustration over the new policy and Ankeny Centennial High School student school board representative and senior Makenzie Bugh posed the question of how the school district could teach students how to self-regulate themselves, preparing them for their secondary pathway, instead of limiting access to cell phones.

“When cell phones first came out, we talked a lot about, how do we incorporate them as tools? How do we teach students to manage their devices?” Ankeny School Board President Katie Claeys said. “But the reality is we have increasingly heard it has not been successful trying to teach the management of [cell phones].”

ACSD has a goal to have talented people and to fulfill this they will have an effective teacher in every classroom, an effective leadership team in every building, and an effective, student-focused staff working across the district.

“Technology can be a distraction not only to our students but also to our school leaders and our teachers when we are having to address threats of intimidation and threats of bullying occurring on social media,” Superintendent Erick Pruitt said. 

Throughout the meeting, there was a lot of discussion on what was practical. When in a room of 300 students at lunch should the board expect administrators to be walking around telling everybody to put their phones away?

“It is a delicate balance between what is the practicality of implementing what we desire to achieve and what we know through what we have read and the research that has been presented to us,” Ankeny School Board Member Stephanie Gott said.

ACSD has many buildings full of different students with different schedules. At AHS many students have an open campus where previously they may have been able to go on their phone. AHS student representative and senior Morgan Conklin mentioned that she has heard students discussing that they may as well just go sit in their car during an open to go on their phone.

This idea seemed to resonate with the board as it was brought up again later on in the meeting. While the policy still passed not allowing phones during open periods, a prior addition to the policy allows for some more flexibility based on the building principal. 

“The superintendent/designee shall have the discretion to authorize principal(s) and/or administrator(s) who lead attendance centers or district program(s) away from attendance center(s) to permit the use of some and/or all Wireless Communication Devices during designated periods,” The Respectable Use of Mobile Devices Policy states. “Provided that such use is authorized for a compelling operational and/or educational purpose. The superintendent may revoke any such granted authorization at any time and for any lawful reason.”

Students do not just use cell phones to communicate with family members but also ACSD staff. Many students use mobile apps to communicate with coaches on changes to practice as well as reminders or additional information that needs to be shared. 

“Once you get to the eighth grade level you have sports, you have clubs, kids start working, some need to provide for their families, some work to start the responsibility part of it,” Conklin said. “So communication with your boss, with your coach, with your teacher representative through your clubs, a lot of that is through Remind or GroupMe.”

Ankeny Chief of Communications Samantha Aukes did mention that the Remind contract will be ending Nov. 30, but it will be replaced by Finalsite which is a mobile app that will be like the district’s website on your phone.

Dr. Pruitt and the board have been receiving feedback from students, parents, and staff since June. Many conversations were had and ultimately the board did unanimously vote in favor of the updated Respectable Use of Mobile Devices Policy.

“An Orbis student I met with, indicated that [students] don’t want to be on their phones,” Dr. Pruitt said. “[Students] want to be engaged in different ways. They don’t always want to be sitting in front of a computer or being given a worksheet. They want to work in small groups, they want to interact with their teacher. We had high school students actually tell us we want to go on field trips more.”