Smartphone use has become a ubiquitous part of life for all ages. From connecting to loved ones and friends to receiving information, the device has become ever-present, even more so in the journeys of modern students.
Due to this knowledge, stakeholders within Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) wish to carve a path toward a districtwide technology plan that balances the positives of devices like smartphones in the classroom with the potential harms of overuse and improper use during instructional time. To start the dialogue en route to this goal, Grant Elementary School held a Smartphone Town Hall Tuesday evening open to all SMMUSD families, attended by parents as well as officials like members of the district’s Board of Education.
Moderated by Grant Principal Christian Fuhrer, the town hall involved a panel and question-and-answer session for intrigued parties, wanting to know more about district policies and what can be done about the increased smartphone use on campuses, specifically at the middle school and high school levels. Fuhrer was joined by three distinguished panelists: SMMUSD Elementary Schools Executive Director Dr. Steve Richardson, Santa Monica Police Department School Resource Officer Anthony Angel, and internationally-recognized media psychologist and healthy digital device management specialist Dr. Don Grant, Ph.D.
The event began with words from California State Senator Ben Allen, who represents Santa Monica in California Senate District 24. Allen, who co-sponsored the event and chose to attend despite a busy election night schedule, said he “worries a lot” about the future of smartphone use as a father, and spoke on a number of issues including a reduction in youth vocabulary “almost entirely due” to screen time, as well as mental health implications and privacy issues.
Fuhrer, who prior to joining SMMUSD was deeply involved in technology matters at Beverly Hills Unified School District, noted to those in attendance that the event wasn’t an airing of grievances with modern smartphone use, but rather a discussion opportunity about potential future district practices.
“I don’t think that technology is inherently evil at all, I think in moderation, it can be a positive tool,” Fuhrer said. “But if we don’t control it, it can also be something that’s very negative and have really ill effects.”
All three panelists are also fathers, including Richardson, who is currently in his 15th year at SMMUSD. He noted that the district has an interest in physical and emotional safety, and is attempting to strike a balance between technology use and overuse, knowing that students are going to need to use devices as part of their curriculum. Overseeing elementary sites, he said that three of the district’s elementary schools have technology policies while others are silent, and that the policies themselves “seem a little dated.” On the district’s website, a Board of Education policy sheet regarding online and internet services is dated August 19, 2009.
Richardson added that the “tricky part” about policy is that it needs to be enforceable to prevent overuse of resources, but that something should be done because of the frequency of smartphone violations throughout the district. He said he researched how many electronic device violations were logged at SMMUSD sites so far in the 2023-24 school year (not including unofficial infractions), with the number being 840 and all but six relating to smartphones.
“When we think about policy, [what] we want to think about [is] what’s best for kids with how we create an emotionally, physically safe environment … how do we create conditions that are conducive for teaching and learning?,” he asked. “How do we do so with something that isn’t going to eat up every second of our day? If we aren’t able to partner with parents on this, it’s not happening, so [this turnout] is beautiful … to start this conversation.”
Many of the parent comments also wanted clarification on phone policy throughout the district, with Richardson remembering his time as John Adams Middle School principal as a potential answer, recalling the (albeit short-lived) success of “Away For The Day.”
“[Students phones were] in a backpack turned off, it was not in [their] back pocket … they had to be put away and turned off,” he said. “That was probably our most successful year. Of course, it was 2019-20 that we did it, and then that didn’t quite get restarted so quickly (due to the COVID-19 pandemic). But it was by far [a success], teachers were feeling that it was a more positive thing, kids were more present.”
Grant, who serves as Secretary of the California Psychological Association Division on Media Technology and Communication, touched on presence by bringing up the term “absent presence,” meaning that smartphone use has people’s minds elsewhere while they’re in a location. He stressed that students need to have “present presence,” and also wished for the removal of smartphones from a student’s person during instructional time.
“Kids [aren’t wearing] virtual coats and hats and lunchboxes yet, and their avatars aren’t going to school yet,” Grant said. “But I see all that stuff outside, hanging outside their classrooms, so why can’t they stow their device?”
Officer Angel plays an active role in the district by counseling students on the perspective of technology law, and said if a parent has a child in middle school or high school, there’s “probably a good chance” he’s been on their social media feeds. He added to the conversation by bringing up a multitude of student issues he sees firsthand from the misuse of smartphones, such as easier access to drugs and atrophying verbal skills.
“When I go to talk to [students], it’s a little bit of a struggle, but I know if I gave up my second cell phone and we texted each other, we’d be able to communicate, and that’s a problem,” Angel said.
With “Away For The Day” and the recent success of Grant’s “Global Day of Unplugging,” which Fuhrer said had classrooms more engaged, a host of potential policies were overheard by SMMUSD Board of Education President Jennifer Smith and board member Alicia Mignano, with the latter expressing her personal opinion that the board should go in the direction of having a smartphone policy districtwide.
“We’re really happy that you’re all here … we need your help, we need to educate all of our parents, we need to make sure that whatever we put in place is going to be effective,” Smith added, saying she would take the town hall findings to the board for potential adding of the issue to the board’s agenda.