On Monday February 13, both Holyoke STEM Academy and Holyoke Middle School will begin piloting the use of the Yondr Program, a system that utilizes simple, secure pouches to store students’ cell phones during the school day. Yondr has been used effectively both nationally and by a number of local middle and high schools to help improve educational outcomes for students.
Yondr recently surveyed more than 900 school partners to measure the effects of creating phone-free educational environments. These schools achieved notable progress in multiple areas:
65% of schools saw an improvement in academic performance
74% of schools saw an improvement in student behavior
83% of schools saw an improvement in student engagement in the classroom
When STEM Academy and Holyoke Middle School launch the Yondr program on February 13, each student will receive a Yondr bag to store their cell phones while at school, and they will be expected to bring their Yondr bags to and from school each day. When students arrive each day, school staff will secure students’ phones in their Yondr bags, which students will carry with them in their backpacks. At the end of the day, staff will quickly unlock the bags for dismissal.
The two schools are preparing for the changes that Yondr will bring in the following ways:
School staff and a group of students will visit Kennedy Middle School in Springfield on Monday, January 23 to see the Yondr program in action, ask questions, and learn about how the program was implemented.
School counselors at each school are already working with students who may need more support with this transition, and those efforts will continue through launch and beyond.
Both schools will hold community meetings with students to explain why the schools are adopting the Yondr program, how it benefits students, and to answer any questions they may have.
Open houses for families have been scheduled to explain the Yondr program on the following dates on Wednesday February 1 at 4 p.m. at Holyoke Middle School and on Wednesday February 8 via Zoom (with link to be announced soon).
During the open houses, participants will discuss:
How the Yondr system works
The benefits of the Yondr system
How schools will support students with the transition
Consequences if students do not use their bags during school hours