With the first day of second semester being the one year mark of having Yondr pouches, Fair Grove students, teachers, and administrators have different opinions about the controversial pouches that have made an impact on Fair Grove Schools.
Last school year, Fair Grove Schools made the decision to ban all phone usage in the school district. They also went forward and banned airpods, smart watches, and any other electronic devices that were not provided by the school. Shortly after the school proceeded to ban phone usage, Missouri passed a law also prohibiting phones in all school districts across the state.
The school proceeded to introduce the Yondr pouch. The Yondr pouch is a small, cell phone sized case that magnetically locks a device into it. At first, there was a lot of controversy among parents, students, staff, and the community. People had a wide range of opinions surrounding the Yondr pouch. Some people believed that they would be ineffective and not a good choice for the school. However, others believed they would be a great idea to help students better perform in the classroom without the distraction of a phone.
Students in Fair Grove have had a variety of different opinions. Carson Trussell (12) stated, “The more I got to thinking about it, the more I loved the idea. I love not having my phone during the day. Now yes it does have its drawbacks, but getting to live in the moment and play cards all day at lunch and talk to my buddies has been eye opening.”
Olivia Broyles (9) added, “Some cons have definitely been not being able to text my mom if I forget something or check if a practice time has gotten changed or something like that. A pro has been that we are not always on our phones and we all talk a little more, especially at lunch.”
The Fair Grove students have had some positive and negative things to say about the Yondr pouches, but it mostly ends in the lines of students being more social and interacting with each other in places like the lunch room or inside of the classroom.
Christain Overstreet, current Superintendent of Fair Grove Schools and former Fair Grove High School Principal, was one of the main supporters of the Yondr pouches and the new phone policy. He stated, “In my experience as the high school principal last year, we saw a dramatic increase in positive student-to-student interaction/engagement, a decrease in social media-related discipline issues, and positive feedback from teachers about increased student engagement in their classes.”
It’s been a year with the Yondr pouches in Fair Grove, and although there have been many different opinions, the policy has continued to stay the same throughout the last year.
