This story has been further updated with comments from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

MATTAPOISETT — When Old Rochester Regional Junior High School Principal Silas Coellner walks around the school, he sees kids using cell phones under cafeteria tables and sneaking texts from their lockers. 

A new pilot program looks to change that. At its Oct. 12 meeting, the Old Rochester Regional School Committee approved the use of magnetically locking phone pouches at the district’s junior high school in an effort to curb cell phone usage during the school day. 

The pouches will be provided by Yondr, a company that produces the equipment for use during concerts and in schools, including 20 in the Boston Public School system and all Providence middle schools, said Yondr representative Matt Army. 

The program would require that each student turn off their cell phones and lock them in Yondr pouches at the beginning of the day. Students will then show staff that their phone is locked in its pouch. Cell phones would be inaccessible from 7:10 a.m. to 2:04 p.m., when students leave school, explained Coellner.

Additionally, students who forget their Yondr pouch will store their phone in the school’s front office for the day. Each student’s pouch will have their full name written on it.

According to Coellner, the pilot will begin on Tuesday, Oct. 31 and conclude at the end of the school year.

The pilot program will be paid for by a $13,020 “Approaches to Address Student Cellphone Use Pilot” grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education that was accepted by the district in September. The Old Rochester Regional School District is one of 80 in the state that were awarded the grant. 

According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Old Rochester is one of several schools in the Commonwealth that are opting to use this funding for Yondr pouches, but some schools have used these funds to pilot programs that require students to place their phones into wall-mounted charging stations at the beginning of class or wall-mounted pockets for phones. 

Additionally, other school districts are using these funds to hold community outreach programs, professional development for staff, and presentations for students and families. 

At the end of the pilot period, the Old Rochester Regional School Committee will evaluate the effectiveness of the phone pouch program.

“One of the key things we’re going to be looking at is discipline referrals,” said Coellner. “We track those through our school information system and we have last year’s data to look at and hopefully we’ll see less discipline referrals.”

According to Coellner, there were 88 “cell phone infractions” at the junior high school last year.

“I know it’s been an important topic state-wide … starting with the Department of Education with addressing screen time,” said Old Rochester Regional School District Superintendent Mike Nelson. “We’re interested in seeing how it impacts, ultimately, what kiddos are doing from a teaching and learning standpoint and interactions with those around them.”

According to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, there is not yet any data available on the effectiveness of phone pouches used in other Massachusetts school districts. Any further funding or future plans related to the “Approaches to Address Student Cellphone Use Pilot Grant” will depend on the effectiveness of the pilot program.

The previous cell phone policy at Old Rochester Regional Junior High School required students to turn off their cell phones and store them in lockers for the duration of the school day.

Old Rochester Regional School Committee member Joe Pires, who voted against the pilot program, “supports the benefits” of the program, but thinks that it will cause unneeded anxiety among students and parents.

“I side on trust, and I think that our students are responsible [and will] follow the rules. I think this is an example of punishing a majority for the infractions of the few,” said Pires. “I think there will be a level of anxiety for the parents knowing that their kids don’t have access to something that they’re so used to day in and day out.”

According to Coellner, students in other school districts feel some anxiety when starting the program, but that turns into relief.

“Whether you’re an offender or not — you think there’s activity going on all the time that you’re missing out on that you want to be a part of,” said Coellner. “There’s an undercurrent of worry about ‘what am I missing?’”

At a meeting in September, school committee members raised concerns about student safety in cases of emergency. 

“If there was ever an emergency … my biggest concern is that my child’s phone would be locked up and God forbid, if he or his friends couldn’t use [their phones],” said Old Rochester Regional School Committee Member April Nye.

According to Coellner, the pouches are made from a fabric that could be cut with scissors.

Yondr representative Matt Army said that it is “best practice” to pack the pouches’ unlocking tools in teachers’ “go-bags” so that pouches can be unlocked outside the school in cases of emergency. 

He added that Yondr pouches are “not phone jails, [they’re] seatbelts,” and could be opened with force if needed.

Locking phone pouches also represent a cultural shift for students, said Army. 

“Students are going through a real change in their lives,” he said. “Most students have used their phones just about every day since they were about 12 or 13 years old, so this is a pretty serious habit and we need to … have a little bit of grace.”

To help normalize Yondr pouches, teachers will be asked to use velcro phone pouches that do not lock, and demonstrate responsible phone use during the school day. 

“I think I might need [a velcro pouch]. If the students are asked to do it … I would try to [be] a role model,” said Nelson. “I don’t think there’s many people who can argue that perhaps we’re all on our cell phones too much these days.”