Out of sight, out of mind: FCPS aims to limit cell distractions

Aug. 30, 2006
By JOSEPH M. DELEON News-Post Staff
jdeleon @ fredericknewspost . com

FREDERICK — After the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attack on the Pentagon, Christina Davis, then 13, wondered if her mother, Susan, was alive.
     “I was in a panic thinking she was in danger and all the school was awry,” the Urbana High School graduate said. “I was stunned and just wondered what happened.”
     Christina, now 17, had to wait more than an hour to make a phone call in the school office.
     Her mother, who works at Marriott headquarters in Bethesda, was never in danger, but the scare was enough to justify a mobile phone, Susan Davis said.
     “At first, I was against kids with cell phones — I didn't want the additional expense,” she said. “But, it was good for when she missed the bus or for when she had to get picked up after school, and it gave her added responsibility and securi ty.”
     Parents buy mobile phones to keep their children safe during emergencies, making home just a phone call away.
     Teachers and school administrators agree mobile phones are an important tool for students' safety and convenience, but they fear the increasing number of phones in schools raises the potential for distractions and cheating.
     “I grew up not having it and maybe kids get way too much, too young,” said Annette Duncan, whose daughter attends Monocacy Middle School. “But for emergencies, it's great to have, especially as they get older and start to drive. I'll always know where she is.”
     Her daughter, Chelsea, 13, is far from driving age, but still benefits from the security a phone gives her.

Phones disrupt learning
Pagers and mobile phones were banned from schools about 10 years ago because of a perception that only drug dealers used such devices, said Ann Bonitatibus, secondary schools instructional director for Frederick County Public Schools.
     “That was the original intent and spirit of the rule, but today we've advanced beyond that,” she said. “We've accepted that students need to have contact with parents after sports practice and tutoring sessions.”
     FCPS allows students to carry mobile phones and pagers in school, but they must be turned off and out of sight. All schools ban use during class time, but rules vary when students are not in class. For example, some schools allow students to use cell phones during lunch.
     Most students comply with the rules, Ms. Bonitatibus said.
     The rule that phones must be kept out of view doesn't sit well with Walkersville Middle School student Alicia Shannon, 13, who said girls her age wear mobile phones as fashion accessories. She keeps her pink Verizon flip-phone in a pink leather case, studded with rhinestones.
     Alicia wishes her phone had a camera so she could record special moments with her friends and an MP3 player to listen to during down time.
     Alicia's mother, Kathie Brown, said she didn't buy the phone for social use.
     “I didn't get it for her to talk to her friends, but it gives me peace of mind that she can call me,” Ms. Brown said. “If you get them everything at 13, what do you get them at 16?”
     FCPS has a reason for wanting to keep mobile phones out of sight, Ms. Bonitatibus said. They can be silenced but still be on, and features like cameras and MP3 players make distractions more tempting.
     “Messages can be sent and received, and that means they are not participating in the learning environment,” she said. “They may be transmitting answers on a test, setting up some clandestine meeting in the restroom, or otherwise disrupting class.”
     Ms. Bonitatibus said she knows of several instances of students cheating with mobile technology in Frederick County schools, but declined to comment about them.
     Everett Warren, principal of Monocacy Middle School, wants to make teachers aware of how technology can be misused.
     “Cell phones have evolved into minicomputers, but if the kids are engaged in the classroom, that kind of thing won't happen,” he said.

Schools change
Olivia Robbins, assistant principal at Frederick High School, is eager to see how a ban on mobile phones in New York City schools will affect schools throughout the country. She worries a ban on phones and other electronic devices might not be enforceable.
     New York's school system has banned mobile communication devices since the late 1980s. The ban made headlines in April when mobile metal detectors were used at random in several New York schools. Administrators expected to find weapons, but found mobile phones, electronic games and MP3 players instead.
     The ban is now being enforced.
     “I don't have a problem with cell phones as long as they don't impact instruction by staying off and concealed,” Ms. Robbins said. “The only concern, just like in church or any other meeting, is that kind of ringing is a distraction.”
     Denise Fargo-Devine, principal of Frederick High School said enforcement of the ban in New York will not affect schools in Frederick.
     “But it will play out in the courts to find out if governments can enforce that rule, and then you might see other jurisdictions follow suit,” she said.
     She has noticed one measurable change — the number of pay phones on campus.
     The school had five pay phones until April, when all but one were removed. Ms. Fargo-Devine said students used to line up to use pay phones until about two years ago.
     “The phone company has seen such a decrease in the number of pay phone calls, that it has become unprofitable for them to have (pay phones) on school sites,” Ms. Fargo-Devine said. “It used to be there was nonstop usage of pay phones, but now almost no one uses them.”