How locking up phones has changed life inside Brockton High School
BROCKTON - Something feels different inside Brockton High School. The hallways are quieter, and the cafeteria is louder.
"Now you are having the art of conversation coming back as opposed to 500 students simply staring at their phones," said Principal Kevin McCaskill.
It's been nearly three months since the school started its phone lock up policy.
WBZ first brought you exclusively inside the halls of Brockton High in March, when reports of violence in the hallways prompted four school committee members to ask the National Guard for help.
"If someone's going to have a fight and they are planning on meeting up in a hallway or corner somewhere in the bathroom, they will send out a message," explained teacher of 24 years Cliff Canavan. "That message goes out to 30 or 40 people that they know. And each student in a different room will ask for let's say a bathroom pass. The teachers don't know what's going on."
Phones locked up in pouches
That coordination is part of the reason the school implemented a new phone policy this school year. Every morning, students must lock their phones up inside individual "Yondr" pouches. Once locked, the pouch cannot be unlocked unless a faculty member unlocks it with a special magnetic device. As a result, students have no access to their phones all day, as they remain locked inside a pouch in their bags.
"This is not punishment," Principal McCaskill said. "It's to get the focus back on education and get people talking to each other where you are just not focusing on the feed."
Students admit the transition was not easy. "I cried about it," said Junior Crissy Welch. "The day before school having to give up my phone, I cried, and I cried."
"I'm not seeing any fights"
Welch spoke with WBZ for our first visit to Brockton High in March, when she said the fights could be a bit scary. Now? "I've seen a lot more people communicating with each other," she said. "Like the fights last year were so out of hand. But this year it's like… I'm not seeing any fights."
It's not a perfect science. One freshman boy showed WBZ how he sneaks his phone in his pocket and hides it behind his laptop in class on a daily basis. But the administration says those breaking the rules are easier to identify. "If you have a phone in your hand, you're kind of noticeable here," he said.
Teachers say new policy has made a difference
If you ask the teachers, the new policy has created a world of difference. "So much better," said Angela Girodier, who WBZ first met as she essentially babysat students last school year when they were stuck without a class to go to because their teacher had called out sick.
Longtime teacher Cliff Canavan says the excessive sick calls were a result of stress – and that they've decreased significantly this year. "Because the work environment is better; it's safer. Teachers are not as stressed out," he said.
Canavan broke his wrist breaking up a fight in the after-school hours in late 2022. He's had surgery and done over 100 hours of physical therapy. And yet – he keeps teaching in Brockton because "it's home," he says.
"This has been one of the better years we've had in a long time," Canavan said. "[Administration is] actually enforcing rules. The Yondr bags are making a significant difference. I'm seeing more eyeballs now than I've seen in a decade, because the kids are just so addicted to their phones."
Kids are still kids – and while many of them praised losing their phones during school hours, the second the bell rings, it's a different tune. The crowds outside of the school are full of kids with their necks craned, faces back in their phones, catching up on anything they missed during the day.
Principal McCaskill says other school districts have come to see the program as they consider it. "I would say definitely do it," he tells them. "But make sure you advertise that it's not from a punitive perspective, but to create a cellphone free environment."
