Gehlen cell phone ban first of its kind in diocese

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
*Edited A device intended to help connect people is becoming a device that’s harmful to children in the classroom. Recognizing the drawbacks, Gehlen Catholic School is banning student cell phone use for the 2024-25 academic year, the only diocesan school to implement such a complete ban.

Sioux City Bishop Heelan Schools has had a policy where students are asked to keep their phones in their lockers throughout the school day.
 
Gehlen Principal Bryan Paulson explained phones would be safely locked away for students in grades 7-12 during the school day once classes resume in a few weeks. A five-page document outlining “Safe Learning” was distributed to parents earlier this month including the rationale for the ban and details outlining how the policy will be implemented.
 
“We have seen an increase with behaviors with our students from technology that are not instilling Catholic values in a caring, challenging and prayerful environment,” Paulson wrote in Safe Learning. “We have noticed smartphones and other devices have increased noise, interruptions and indifference towards learning among our students.”
 
The news probably wasn’t a surprise to parents as the school instituted a temporary cell phone ban early in the spring of 2024 in response to some phone-related incidents in the school.
 
“We wanted to see how it would look and ‘test drive’ it first with the students,” Paulson said, noting the school leadership team and school board have discussed the issue numerous times.
 
In a classroom environment, the temporary ban “went fine,” the principal pointed out. There were mixed results in the other parts of the school day.

 

Gehlen Catholic School students

“Our lunchroom got much louder because they actually had to talk to each other,” he explained. “It was the transition between classes that really needed to be cleaned up. As soon as the bell rang, they were back on their phones in just a heartbeat.”
 
The principal, who has children attending Gehlen middle and high school, said the students were not happy to give up their phones for seven hours a day but understood why the school was implementing the temporary ban. The parents appeared to be on board with the change.
 
“We had a lot of support from parents and we’ve heard them saying, ‘If you guys want to do this permanently, that would be great,’” Paulson shared.
 
Mental health effects
Patty Lansink, superintendent of diocesan Catholic schools, said since students started receiving cell phones around 2007 when the first iPhone was introduced, schools “were trying to figure out how to manage it.”
 
The widespread use of cell phones by students has been creating long-term mental health challenges for students since then, the superintendent said.
 
“Teachers would take them and parents would come after school and pick them up. And that’s all they were doing all day was fighting cell phone behavior issues,” Lansink said, pointing out that schools often gave up and allowed the students to have the phones. “Now everyone is seeing the effects on kids’ attention and mental health. I think folks are realizing something drastic has to happen.”
 
Students are distracted by having a phone accessible during the school day, receiving texts and notifications, but the problem runs deeper, Amy Bloch, executive director for Catholic Charities, pointed out.
 
“I think that’s what people are thinking (the problem is) taking them out in class and physical being on (the devices). …certainly, that’s not good but a lot of it is even having them on their person. All of the sudden you feel the vibration and you are instantly distracted,” Bloch explained. “There’s that instant distraction and preoccupation and then wondering what that is or did someone respond to me?”
 
The executive director, who has a high school student, pointed out students are often distracted and not focusing in class, anxiously waiting for the next opportunity to access their phones,
 
“That is what is happening all day long. Imagine what that’s doing to their ability to learn. And what that’s doing to their brain, their brain development and ability to focus. It’s pretty significant. It’s much more so than taking it out and being on it. It’s the notification and what that does,” Bloch said.
 
Students will try to hide their devices in their pockets or binders at times when they are not supposed to have their phones, she explained. This can be especially problematic if they are in a school setting where devices can be accessed between classes.
 
“That’s the challenge when kids are only supposed to have them between classes. They’re finding a way – that’s what kids do,” Bloch said. “The only way to avoid that is to ban them completely.”
 
The new Gehlen policy addressed the issue of access to devices at certain times during the school day and the problems that can create.
 
“When students have access to their phones during the school day, even intermittently, their levels of stress and anxiety remain high and they tend to spend even more time on them between classes, in the bathroom or other (times in) the school day,” the policy reads.
 
Lansink has been researching the connections between smart phones and children’s mental health. She described a typical scenario and how today’s technology can affect students.
 
“Let’s say you were a kid not invited to a birthday party. You didn’t know what you didn’t know (before smart phones). Now they are posting pictures all over the place and everybody knows I wasn’t invited to that birthday party. The cell phone has changed so much,” the superintendent said.
 
Also, the filters used by middle and high school students “make themselves look perfect and that’s what our teenage daughters are comparing themselves to,” Lansink pointed out, noting there’s data on how this negatively affects both male and female students.
 
Parental support
Parents are key regarding safe smartphone use for their students. Paulson said the Gehlen system is asking parents and students to make adjustments.
 
“A lot of parents say, ‘thank you.’ But it’s going to be retraining the parents, too, not to call their students on their cell phone during the day. We ask that they take these last a few weeks of summer, sit down and talk it over with your student. They can still email each other,” the principal said.
 
Bloch agrees that parents can be a big help in reducing distractions for their child and by supporting their school policies.
 

The lunchroom noise level increased once students were away from phones

“Don’t text your kids during school. If it is something that’s urgent, call the office,” she suggested. “As a parent, continue to become more involved in and aware of your child’s cell phone usage and social media presence.”
 
As a result of the efforts of parents and school staff to eliminate the distractions caused by devices in the school day, Paulson is hopeful that the school day will become more effective for the Gehlen students.
 
“We are trying to be proactive in school and make everyone safe, at least for seven hours. Come, learn and hang out with friends,” he said.