When the 2022/23 school year begins in the Perry Community School District, families and students should be prepared for a new policy regarding cell phones and smart watches.

The Perry School Board approved the policy at their meeting on July 11th and Superintendent Clark Wicks says this change was created as a way to help create an atmosphere for learning and student success.

“It is a reasonable policy in which we will have students put their phones or smartwatches or whatever into a case when they enter the rooms and then we are going to focus on teaching and learning and then when they leave they’ll be able to have them if they need to use them in the hallway, during lunch time. The whole focus is going to be on creating that culture and atmosphere for teaching and learning.”

Wicks tells Raccoon Valley Radio there have been struggles with students being on phones and having interruptions. Wicks says it will take an effort from everyone involved to get used to the new policy once school starts but it will be a good change.

“It’s a very reasonable policy. It isn’t like we are taking the phones away and they can never use them throughout the day, just in the classroom. Let’s get things done in the classroom, let’s see those scores increase, let’s get the skills that they need to be a productive citizen and they will be fine, in a matter of two weeks their habits will be changed and they will be fine.”

Wicks says some teachers have already been practicing this policy. A full reading of the new policy for 2022/23 can be found here.