‘Healthy environment.’ Westport parents make final pleas on bell-to-bell cellphone ban at Staples High School
Dozens of parents made their final pleas to the Board of Education Tuesday night at Coleytown Middle School.
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It’s a raging debate in school districts across America — and on Tuesday night, the Town of Westport met again to decide the future of cellphones at Staples High School.
Dozens of parents made their final pleas to the Board of Education Tuesday night at Coleytown Middle School.
“We have the opportunity to give kids their childhood back,” Erika Brunwasser says. “I’m really hoping that’s what’s going to happen.”
A strong contingent of parents are for the bell-to-bell ban, which superintendent Thomas Scarice recommended one year ago.
“What I'm asking for is phone free spaces from bell to bell,” Scarice says. “Then the other 17 hours of the day, they can have unfettered access to their phones.”
Westport school policy states pre-high school students can’t use or display tech devices, but high school students are allowed to use them outside the classroom during unscheduled periods at certain locations.
Westport has been closely monitoring how nearby districts, like Wilton, have implemented their own cellphone bans.
“When I did a site visit there, what I saw is no evidence of phones anywhere,” Scarice says. “A lot of social interaction. I thought it was a very healthy environment.”
No action was taken Tuesday night, but the superintendent says he’s asking the Board of Education to vote on the ban either May 15 or June 5.
