In 2018, Urban began using phone cubbies to keep underclassmen focused in class, but some students and teachers now question the method’s efficacy. Students and teachers grapple with trying to balance minimizing the distraction of cellphones in class with preparing students for their lives after Urban without phone cubbies.
After California joined 14 other states in having policies encouraging or requiring cellphone restrictions in public schools, students and teachers reflected on the positive and negative impacts of cellphones on their classrooms.
In a recent survey of public school teachers conducted by the Pew Research Center, 72% of high school teachers saw students being distracted by cellphones as a major problem in their classrooms.
“The science is clear: When we have a device on us, it impacts [our] focus,” said Rachel Herbert, director of learning strategies. “I think phone cubbies are a step to addressing that during the class period.”
English Teacher Courtney Rein spoke about the effect of phone cubbies on students’ focus in class. “There is a tendency to stay in the classroom more because you don’t have your phone in your pocket, so you can’t go on a bathroom run and check your phone,” Rein said. “Knowing that you don’t have access to your phone actually helps encourage students to stay in the room, stay in the community [and] stay [involved] in the learning.”
However some students believe that unrestricted phone usage can help students build healthy habits around technology. Students have an opportunity to experience unrestricted phone usage during their upperclassmen years, when phone cubbies are not required. “[Urban students are] not going to sacrifice class time to be on their phones,” Olivia Stanton ‘27 said. “If you end up going on your phone in class you [will] miss important stuff.”
Ella Braverman ‘27 said, “It’s you who’s going to have a harder time in your class if you’re on your phone. So I think it’s fair to just let [students] deal with that for themselves once they [are] old enough.”
Teachers search for ways to keep students on task while also preparing them to be independent in their futures. “The role of school is also to prepare students for the next step, where phones are present all the time,” Herbert said. “So I think there should be a time where students experience school prior to college with access to devices.”
A new law requires California public schools to implement policies limiting students’ cellphone usage. According to the Phone-Free Schools Act, California school districts are required to establish policies that limit or prohibit cellphone use during the school day before July 1, 2026. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the act into law on Sept. 23.
The Phone-Free Schools Act brings into question Urban’s current phone cubby policy and how it might shift in the future. “What does it mean for us at Urban not to be in sync with those other schools that are having to adhere to these new expectations?” Rein said.
Rein spoke about alternatives to phone cubbies, such as teaching students how to be in healthy relationships with their devices. She said, “We need to help empower you to know what’s good for you as a learner [and] a human being.”