MARIETTA, Georgia. – Marietta City Schools is currently participating in a study on the impact of cell phones on students. This year, the district implemented a cell phone ban for sixth through eighth graders.
Since the first day of school, the first thing students do when they enter the classroom at Marietta Middle School and Sixth-Grade Academy is put their cell phones in a bag, where they lock them away and store them for the school day.
“As a former teacher, I can understand that having a phone in the classroom can be distracting,” says Terri Nicole, whose son attends Marietta Middle School.
Grant Rivera, superintendent of Marietta City Schools, says children have been more focused in class since the policy went into effect. He says students are getting to class on time because they are no longer sitting in the hallways on their phones, and he says there is a noticeable difference in the cafeteria.
“I’ve never heard it so loud because kids are talking,” Rivera said.
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Marietta City Schools is partnering with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Emory University to study the impact of this cell phone ban policy on students.
“We’re very interested in how kids’ self-perception changes when they’re not addicted to their phones and their self-image isn’t based on social media all day long. We’re very interested in how classroom dynamics change when kids are more focused,” Rivera said.
The researchers want to examine the academic performance, mental health and well-being of students. They are in the schools and conducting small group interviews with children and staff. Students, staff and families fill out questionnaires.
At the end of the year they will do the same and compare the results.
“If you check the amount of time your kids spend on their phone screens, you’ll see that it’s a lot of time. So I think there’s going to be a big difference,” says Teara Bridges, whose daughter attends Marietta Middle School.
As schools across the country wage war on phones in classrooms, the results of this study could have far-reaching implications.
“This can actually help every single school and every single classroom across the country,” Rivera said.
