Middle Schools Go Phone-Free

As 5th-8th graders across New Haven locked away their cellphones for the official kickoff of phone-free schools Monday, many Truman School students did so knowing that it would help them in the long run — though some argued that the money could’ve been spent better, like on more school sports. 

That was the scene Monday morning at the Hill’s Truman Middle School, as city officials gathered for a press conference to announce the district-wide rollout of Yondr pouches — a storage device that magnetically seals students’ phones during the school day — for 5th through 8th graders.

New Haven Public Schools (NHPS) first piloted the use of Yondr pouches for students at King Robinson, Wexler-Grant, Celentano, Bishop Woods, and Barnard middle schools. Last October, school and city leaders announced that the pouches would be expanded to all elementary and middle schools in January, after the U.S. Surgeon General and the state Board of Education handed down the recommendation that all K‑8 schools should ban cellphones and high schools should restrict them. 

In January, city alders allocated $371,000 in city funds to purchase 14,081 pouches for middle and high schools.

In February, New Haven Academy kickstarted their pilot of Yondr pouch usage, marking the district’s first phone-free high school. City officials stated that other high schools would follow in the fall, for the 2025 – 2026 school year. 

Monday’s rollout added the remaining 17 NHPS middle schools to the 13 schools that have already piloted and implemented Yondr pouches. Next school year, the final nine high schools will be added to the list. 

Truman Principal Evelyn Aurea Jaca was joined by Mayor Justin Elicker, Supt. Madeline Negrón, New Haven Federation of Teachers Vice President Jenny Graves, and Alders Sal Punzo and Kampton Singh at the Monday press conference.

“We believe that our students deserve an environment that truly supports their learning and their social and emotional growth,” Negrón said. 

She detailed the district’s process that began last year with a pilot and then progressed to school community conversations about what the shift would look like. She said that her goal is to be the first district to have cellphone-free learning spaces by fall 2025. 

As speakers detailed the positive benefits of the Yondr pouches, they described how cellphone-free spaces will enhance student engagement, activity, and participation in class discussions. They talked about how students will be able to work without any personal technology distractions, and engage more fully with staff and their peers through the promotion of building up social skills. 

“We know that that face-to-face interaction fosters essential social skills such as communication, empathy, teamwork, which are crucial at this developmental stage,” Negrón added. 

Yondr’s expansion will also help educators maintain structured learning environments that simultaneously support students’ mental health by limiting excessive screen time and access to addictive social media use. 

In response to community concerns about the safety of locking students’ devices away — particularly at times of major emergency, like when there might be a shooter on campus — Negrón explained, ​“In emergencies, its crucial that communication is coordinated through designated channels rather than personal devices, ensuring that all students are accounted for and safe. And ultimately the public is receiving factual information during emergencies.” 

Elicker described the Yondr implementation as a ​“no brainer” Monday, despite the complex work it took to get there. From conversations with principals and community apprehension, he said the use of Yondr is just a stronger reinforcement to the district’s previous phone policy requiring students to keep their personal devices stored in backpacks or lockers with the expectation that they will not use them. 

Since the pilot, Elicker said fights in middle schools have decreased — thanks to what he suspects is the result of students having less access to social media and ability to engage with drama and posts by their peers, as well as cyber bullying. 

“It’s a lesson to us to put our phones aside and look at each other in the eye and focus on each other,” he said. ​“Most importantly, we’re going to connect better with one another.”

Graves said Monday that she looks forward to the rollout being a step forward in the district’s support for its educators who struggle with devices in the classroom and students who are impacted physically and mentally by overuse. 

“Cellphone-free classrooms will allow teachers to focus on delivering high-quality instruction and will foster stronger peer connections, improve face-to-face communication skills, and create a more inclusive and engaged space for all of our students,” she said. 

She described the process leading to the rollout as collaborative between the district, staff, and families. 

Jaca said that as a bilingual school, Truman will benefit greatly from the distraction-free spaces allowing multilingual-learner students to build on their communication skills by getting more opportunities to engage directly with their peers. 

Truman educator Kelsey Alson said she looks forward to being able to create a more focused and interactive learning environment as a result of the new policy. 

Truman parent Karina Reboyras said she supports the policy because ​“I want my child to get the most out of their education.” She said she appreciates the effort to help her child develop healthy habits and that it ​“gives me a peace of mind.” 

Truman received pouches for its 5th through 8th graders, handheld unlocking devices for all homeroom teachers, and one wall-mounted unlocking device installed in the main office. 

Around 8:30 a.m., students began arriving at Truman; 7th and 8th graders began their day in the cafeteria for breakfast, where pouches were distributed for them to begin the day phone-free. 

While the shift to Yondr wasn’t too hard for 7th graders Balal and Jovanni because their teachers began piloting with lock boxes at the start of the school year, the duo agreed: ​“I don’t like it, but at the same time, I get it,” Balal said. 

They agreed that they prefer the Yondr pouches to the lock boxes because ​“I didn’t have enough trust that my teacher wouldn’t lose it,” Balal said. 

Jovanni said his parents asked why the pouches were being used, but they didn’t see a problem with it. 

Regarding their peers, they also said, ​“Lowkey, nobody likes them, but it does help to be on the phone less.” 

Balal concluded that ​“it’s a waste of money” because he and Jovanni believe the school could have instead used the money to invest in its athletic extracurriculars. They said new sports beyond the school’s existing football and soccer programs should have been added, in order to get students more active and willingly off their phones. 

Jaca said Truman’s 7th graders have struggled the most with phone addiction and usage during the school day. She said that she is excited to look at the new data to see if there is in fact a decrease in behavioral incidents and improvements in student academics.

“I really hope this brings us closer together,” she said.

Click here to watch the full press conference.