An Ohio school banned cellphones. Turns out students actually like it

When was the last time you saw a group of teenagers interact for hours without a cellphone?

At Cincinnati Country Day School in Indian Hill, it happens every day.

Like most schools, Country Day has had a no cellphone policy for years. But kids, teachers and administrators alike admit it was rarely enforced − until this school year, when homeroom teachers started collecting students' phones to be returned at the end of the school day.

Isabel Ramirez, a senior and student body vice president, said she got her first cellphone when she was 13. She constantly used it to chat with friends on social media during the school day, she said, and even made TikToks during her advisory class as a freshman.

Now that she goes eight hours every day away from her phone, Isabel said she's gotten to know her peers better and said she's more productive.

"I go home, pretty much, with no homework now compared to my first couple years of high school," Isabel said.

Schools across the state are considering stricter cellphone policies in response to growing research that shows the devices negatively impact students' mental health, academics and social behavior. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Lt. Gov. Jon Husted recently came out in favor of school cellphone bans, too.

Olivia Ims, an eighth-grader at Country Day, didn't get a cellphone herself until earlier this school year. But before then, she said, her classmates' phones got in the way of her building deeper connections with them There was still a no cellphone policy, but before teachers physically kept kids' phones out of sight, Olivia said, students would sneak off to the bathroom during class to check social media.

"In seventh grade, everyone was kind of in their own groups and they would always be talking about what video they saw on TikTok or on Snapchat or on Instagram," she said. "And I would always be clueless."

With the new cellphone policy this year, Olivia said her friends engage with each other more and talk about things everyone can relate to.

"Everything's just more positive now," she said.

What are other schools' cellphone policies?

The Enquirer reviewed dozens of cellphone policies at local school districts in southwest Ohio and Northern Kentucky. Some allow kids to use their cellphones during passing periods, before and after school and during lunch. Some require phones to be turned off and tucked away in backpacks or lockers all day. Several of the policies leave cellphone use up to individual teachers. Very few require kids to give up their phones all day like the new policy at Country Day.

More: Schools don't want kids on cellphones. Is banning them the solution?

Princeton High School's universal protocol requires students to drop off their phones at the start of each class period and then pick them up at the end of class. Teachers at Carlisle Jr./Sr. High School have that option, too. Phone caddies are set up in classrooms in case teachers choose to implement the rule.

Similarly, Mount Healthy Junior High School is piloting a program that requires students to place their phones in a lock box at the start of each core class.

"The overall response has been positive and we are considering expanding the program districtwide," Superintendent Valerie Hawkins said.

Schools in other Ohio regions, including Akron, use Yondr. The program provides pouches students use to store their phones during the school day, that unlock with a magnetic tap.

Cellphones, social media harmful to kids' mental health

While schools' policies vary, most educators and child advocates agree: overexposure to phones and social media aren't great for kids' mental health, concentration and overall well-being.

A 2023 advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General says up to 95% of kids ages 13-17 report they use social media. More than one-third say they use social media "almost constantly." The advisory lists potential mental health, academic and social detriments to kids in addition to compulsive behavior spurred by using social media. Excessive, uncontrollable use of social media platforms has been linked to sleep problems, attention problems and feeling excluded.

Matthew Wood, a freshman at Country Day, admits he has "a really unhealthy habit of constantly checking my phone for notifications." Before the new policy, when his phone was tucked away in his backpack, he said, he'd still check it throughout the day "just to see what popped up."

The new policy is "kind of freeing, in a sense," Matthew said, "to not feel like you need to check that every five seconds."

A consumer research study published in the University of Chicago Press Journals shows the mere presence of cellphones reduces cognitive capacity. A similar study from German researchers is included in the National Library of Medicine and found the presence of cellphones slows work performance and weakens attention spans.

Jeanette Hecker has been teaching world languages at Country Day for 25 years. Cellphones have hindered her students' long-term memories and notetaking skills, she said. Instead of memorizing or writing down instructions and notes during class, before the cellphone ban Hecker would watch students take photos of her board.

This year, she's noticed a shift back to good notetaking. Wood said he's taking better notes now, too.

What about emergencies?

Rob Zimmerman, head of Country Day School, said the research overwhelmingly supported his decision to ban cellphones. Even so, some parents were skeptical of the new policy at the start of the school year, he said. In many cases, parents were the ones contacting their kids during the school day.

"What if there's an emergency?" was a common point of pushback Zimmerman said he got from families.

But after speaking with local law enforcement, Zimmerman said it's actually best that kids don't have cellphones during emergencies. Accurate information and updates are crucial in those moments, and schools can better streamline communication and prevent misinformation from spreading if kids don't have their phones.

"It's been a hugely successful cultural shift for our community − more successful than I thought it might be," Zimmerman said. But he said he doesn't think a cellphone ban would work for every school in Cincinnati. "I also think it's not a one-size-fits-all approach."

Isabel said the transition was difficult at first, but now students are used to being phone-free during the school day. Sometimes, Wood said, he even forgets to get his phone at the end of the day.

"Now, everyone's so much more social," Olivia said. "It's so much more, like, an enjoyable day."

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: A Cincinnati school banned phones. Why kids are cool with it