For as long as cell phones have been stored in the pockets and backpacks of Athens Drive students, policies have been in place to prevent those devices from being accessible during the school day. Whether it was in between classes or during SMART lunch, the rule had been enforced up until now. However, beginning this 2013-2014 school year, Athens Drive has begun implementing a new policy allowing students the ability to use their cell phones while in the hallways and during lunch, as well as during class if allowed for educational purposes.

“We unanimously agreed that with proper guidelines, students having electronic devices during non-instructional time would not be a distraction,” said William Crockett, principal of Athens Drive, on the topic of creating the policy.

“We were aware that some high schools in WCPSS already had a more flexible implementation of the electronic device policy.  Another point of discussion was that many of the reasons for the strict enforcement in the past were no longer valid.  Ultimately, we felt that we could trust the students at Athens Drive High School to be sufficiently mature to use their phones and electronic devices in a responsible manner,” Crockett said[2] .

With the school year just beginning, teachers have had little time to assess the policy, resulting in varying opinions on how well it affects the classroom setting.

“It definitely benefits the school and my classroom,” said Farrall Hilton, art teacher. “It’s nice to not hear teachers have to berate students about their phones in the hallway.”

In the past, Hilton was worried about letting her students listen to music independently in the classroom because of the previous policy and the possibility that it could distract other teachers.

“Now I can let them listen to their music without worrying,” said Hilton. “The school seems more relaxed, so maybe it spills over.”

Other teachers feel differently about the change.

“I’m of mixed feeling,” said Ed Deadmon, CTE teacher. “I personally don’t like when students bring their phone to school at all because I see no justification for it. While students may use it to call or text their parents for important reasons, there has always been a phone in the office for that option.”

Deadmon does believe that the policy has its benefits.

“The upside is that it’s significantly quieter in the school,” Deadmon said.

Students around Athens have also showed a variety of reactions to the new cell phone policy, with many of them being positive.

Megan Bonner, junior, who doesn’t use her cell phone often, said, “I’m pretty indifferent about it, but I guess it’s good for people who use it.”

Meredith Roche, senior, said, “I love the new policy. It gives the students much more freedom than we’ve had in the past few years.”

The new policy, which has only been in effect for a few short weeks, has already altered the way of life at Athens Drive. With cell phones regulated on a looser basis, students have been given more freedom with when and how they use them throughout the day.

“I am proud of our faculty for realizing that our culture has changed with regard to cell phones.  I also give our faculty credit for being innovative and progressive.  I know our students will show appreciation for the trust that this faculty has extended by being responsible not only with our electronic divide policy but with all of the rules in our Code of Conduct,” said Crockett.