The Yondr Pouches have taken Lake Highlands High School by storm since the first week of school when they were first enacted. Since then, they have faced a variety of different opinions and viewpoints.
Yondr pouches were created to keep phones locked in their pockets for the school day. Students place their phones in the Yondr pouches before class at the start of the school day. They can unlock their pockets at the last period of the day with magnets provided near the entrances before leaving campus.
After years of talking to the wall, teachers can finally engage with their students without competing with a phone. There’s no question that the phone pouches, despite the hassle of remembering to have them on your person, have changed the classroom environment at Lake Highlands High School for the better. You no longer face kids looking glassy-eyed at their phones when walking into the room. Students are more engaged with the lessons and are interacting with one another.
Aimey Washmon teaches seniors and juniors at LHHS and supports the Yondr Pouches.
“Obviously, the Yondr pouches have made a tremendous impact. I can see and hear students talking to each other, which is great – I prefer students talking and conversing with each other rather than mindlessly staring at their phones and ignoring one other,” says Mrs. Washmon.
Olivia Goode, the Culture Coach and NHS Sponsor, wholeheartedly stands for the Yondr phone pouches and has enforced the no-phone rule even before it was introduced.
“I had good relationships with students and had set high expectations where phones were not allowed in my classroom,” Goode mentions. “I know that phones have always been difficult between teachers & students because even teachers can find it hard to put their phones away during the day. The Yondr pouches remove that distraction & it is no longer a temptation to check the notifications constantly.”
Many teachers and administrators hope students’ productivity will increase with the Yondr pouches preventing students from constantly checking their phones. There’s a noticeable difference between this year and years prior due to the absence of phones. Students are more attentive to lessons and aren’t as distracted.
“I’m very hopeful and positive that academic results will rise since students will, by and large, be more focused and less distracted. The learning levels, the classroom engagement, and ultimately, the test scores will go up,” Washmon vocalizes. “I’ve already witnessed and experienced increased student productivity since we’ve issued the Yondr pouches.”
Goode has also seen students’ productivity increase throughout the year.
“We hope to see stronger academic gains because of the new pouches! I’ve had conversations with students who say they can focus more in class and are getting their work done faster because they don’t have the distraction of a phone,” Goode enthuses.
Washmon notes that while this generation of students is tied to their phones, the pouches are a step in the right direction. She hopes they will improve academic and communication skills and decrease classroom distractions.
“ Is it a cure for everything? No. Is it mostly a deterrent? Yes. But it’s the right move,” Washmon. concludes
