District 118: Cell Phone Pouch Policies Passed for Both Danville High School, North Ridge Middle School

 ABOVE: Danville District 118 Superintendent John Hart and Board President Darlene Halloran

In the topic that took the longest of all during Tuesday (June 17th) evening’s Danville District 118 Board meeting, cell phone pouch policies have been passed unanimously for both Danville High School and North Ridge Middle School.  At first, the plan was to do this for the high school, and get it done before an expected cell phone policy coming from state legislators.  But now, students heading for DHS from North Ridge will also have done things the new way.

The district will be spending $42,000 in federal Title 4 money to purchase cell phone pouches for the high school students, expected to last six to eight years.  Although the exact North Ridge price has not been announced, it is expected to cost a total of up to $70,000 to involve both schools.  The pouches would be purchased from a company called Yondr, and the phones would be in the pouches and inaccessible during the school day; except, as explained before, in cases of major emergency once the students are in a safe place.

(2nd Picture) DHS Principal Jacob Bretz and North Ridge Asst Principal Nathan Henderson.  (3rd Picture) Board members Toni Towne and Alice Payne discuss cell phone issue.

DHS principal Jacob Bretz says, YES, this can all be ready by the new school year.

AUDIO: It’ll be a tight turnaround.  But I’ve been told by the Yondr representative I’ve been working with that it’s definitely doable for the first week of school; I think that August 14th is the first day for students.

North Ridge Assistant Principal Nathan Henderson says having been a high school teacher before himself; getting the middle school kids ready for this policy in high school definitely makes sense.

AUDIO: Understanding the benefit of aligning our policies so that students understand expectations, and are aware of those policies; will be beneficial for years to come.

Superintendent John Hart mentioned that the way Title 4 funds work, the district will be making the initial payment to Yondr, with reimbursement coming at a later date.