Desks, chairs, and a lock box in the corner of the classroom containing student’s phones have now become the classroom of the future.

It’s been a week since the Los Angeles Unified School District’s new phone policy, as reflected in Board Resolution 035-23/24, was implemented onto Venice’s campus on February 18, and students, teachers, and administration have reflected on what this new policy might mean for Venice in the future.

Back in December, Venice’s Local School Leadership Council (LSLC) decided that the best method of implementation would be to use lock boxes, in which teachers would collect phones from students at the start of the day and place them in the lock box, and then students would retrieve their phones at the end of the day.

In order to accommodate for the LSLC’s decision, Venice decided to add a ten-minute homeroom period at the start of the day, which takes place in the student’s Period 6 classroom.

However, Venice spent February 18, the first day of the phone policy, without the actual lock boxes.

According to assistant principal Ernesto Guerrero, the lock boxes provided by LAUSD, made by the company Prime River, arrived on campus February 14. However, the boxes were not given to teachers on Tuesday, Feb. 18 because the lock boxes still needed to be set up, with staff spending the remaining day setting up the styrofoam slots and labelling the boxes with the classroom numbers. The lock boxes were then distributed to teachers.

“It was a big process,” he said.

Guerrero said that phone collection starts at the beginning of the school day, after the first bell rings to alert students to head to their homeroom.

“We welcome them in, tell them to put their phone away, and then they make their way to the classroom for phone collection,” he said.

Guerrero said that if a student is caught with a phone outside of the classroom, a stationed campus aide carrying a different numbered lock box will confiscate the phone and place it into one of the slots. The student is then given a paper slip that is labelled with the lock box number and the slot the student’s phone was placed in.

At the end of the day, the students would make their way to the cafeteria to turn in their paper slips and retrieve their phone, but now students are expected to collect their phones from the Dean’s office instead. Then, the data is implemented into a spreadsheet.

According to Guerrero, about 75 phones were confiscated outside of the classroom on Wednesday, Feb. 19, and that number has gradually decreased over the past few days.

“I’m very impressed with the response,” said Guerrero. “I think it has been a pretty successful rollout, but I credit it to our students.”

For teachers, the phone policy has been a smooth experience with positive results. 

Biology teacher Julia Bare said that if a teacher sees a student with a cellphone, they will call the main office, and the main office sends either a campus aide worker or an administrator to come and collect the phone. The student then has the option of giving the administrator their phone or walking to the office and giving them the phone.

Bare is supportive of the new LAUSD phone policy.

“I think that it is a really important thing for us to teach our students to use their cell phones in a way that is a tool and a way that is productive, and not detrimental to their education,” she said.

Bare said that there is “a conscious effort” among teachers to not use their cell phones during the school day.

“We know that it is hypocritical of us to enforce a policy that we don’t also follow,” she said. “We do have our cell phones on us at any given time, but it is mainly in the case of emergencies and for communication with our administrators.

Bare said that the new policy has been a “huge adjustment period” for Venice.

“A lot of teachers have to adjust their curriculum to accommodate the policy,” she said. “But it seems like it’s going pretty well so far.”

English teacher Gloria Gonzales said that the policy has allowed for less disruptions during class and nearly no violations. 

“It’s helped my classroom routine because I don’t have to spend time telling students to put their phones away,” she said. “There’s a little bit of additional work for me because of the added homeroom period, but I think it’s been worth it.”

Though there were some student concerns about the restrictions of the phone policy, it seems that many are seeing some of the positive effects.

Senior Mina Simpson said that although she doesn’t see students actually putting their phones in the lock box, less students have had their phones out during instruction. She said that the ban doesn’t affect her personally, except for some minor inconveniences.

“Sometimes it’s annoying since I can’t have my phone during nutrition and lunch, especially when I have to text my friends about where we’re eating, or my parents before school ends,” she said.

 Moving forward, Simpson said that some teachers may have to find alternative ways to instruct during class, because of their use of cell phones.

“I know that during some classes, teachers use them for taking pictures or accessing other assignments, so I feel like we’re going to have to find a way to replace the function of phones,” she said.

Sophomore Ashlinn Dwyer said that she thinks students should be able to use their phones during nutrition and lunch.

“We should be able to use our free time to wind down and relax with friends after having a long day of classes,” she said.

However, Dwyer said that the policy has helped her be able to be more “productive” in the classroom.

“I’ve been able to get my work done because there aren’t any distractions for me anymore,” she said. “But we should still be able to have our phones during breaks.”

Even though students are able to use their phones during a school-wide emergency, sophomore Sage Smith said that emergencies are much more common than people realize.

“Within the last two years, I’ve had to text my parents that there was a bomb threat, that school was closed early due to the Palisades fires, and that I might be exposed to whooping cough,” she said. “I think it’s really inconvenient to not have that contact with them anymore.”

Despite some of the policy’s restrictions, Guerrero still supports a phone-free campus.

“I think the fact that phones are not allowed in the classroom anymore allows for greater opportunities for students to acquire more knowledge.”

Guerrero said that the policy is “a double-edged sword.”

“The policy has benefited some people, but it also has hurt others,” he said. “I can understand both sides of that, but at the same time, I think the effects overall are positive.”

New version

Desks, chairs, and a lock box in the corner of the classroom containing student’s phones have now become the classroom of the future.

It’s been a week since the Los Angeles Unified School District’s new phone policy, as reflected in Board Resolution 035-23/24, was implemented onto Venice’s campus on February 18, and students, teachers, and administration have reflected on what this new policy might mean for Venice in the future.

Back in December, Venice’s Local School Leadership Council (LSLC) decided that the best method of implementation would be to use lock boxes, in which teachers would collect phones from students at the start of the day and place them in the lock box, and then students would retrieve their phones at the end of the day.

In order to accommodate for the LSLC’s decision, Venice decided to add a ten-minute homeroom period at the start of the day, which takes place in the student’s Period 6 classroom.

However, Venice spent February 18, the first day of the phone policy, without the actual lock boxes.

According to assistant principal Ernesto Guerrero, the lock boxes provided by LAUSD, made by the company Prime River, arrived on campus on February 14. However, the boxes were not given to teachers on February 18 because the lock boxes still needed to be set up, with staff spending the remaining day setting up the styrofoam slots and labelling the boxes with the classroom numbers. The lock boxes were then distributed to teachers.

“It was a big process,” he said.

Guerrero said that phone collection starts at the beginning of the school day, after the first bell rings to alert students to head to their homeroom.

“We welcome them in, tell them to put their phone away, and then they make their way to the classroom for phone collection,” he said.

Guerrero said that if a student is caught with a phone outside of the classroom, a stationed campus aide carrying a different numbered lock box will confiscate the phone and place it into one of the slots. The student is then given a paper slip that is labelled with the lock box number and the slot the student’s phone was placed in.

At the end of the day, the students would make their way to the cafeteria to turn in their paper slips and retrieve their phone, but now students are expected to collect their phones from the Dean’s office instead. Then, the data is implemented into a spreadsheet.

According to Guerrero, about 75 phones were confiscated outside of the classroom on Wednesday, and that number has gradually decreased over the past few days.

“I’m very impressed with the response,” said Guerrero. “I think it has been a pretty successful rollout, but I credit it to our students.”

For teachers, the phone policy has been a smooth experience with positive results. 

Biology teacher Julia Bare said that if a teacher sees a student with a cellphone, they will call the main office, and the main office sends either a campus aide worker or an administrator to come and collect the phone. The student then has the option of giving the administrator their phone or walking to the office and giving them the phone.

Bare is supportive of the new LAUSD phone policy.

“I think that it is a really important thing for us to teach our students to use their cell phones in a way that is a tool and a way that is productive, and not detrimental to their education,” she said.

Bare said that there is “a conscious effort” among teachers to not use their cell phones during the school day.

“We know that it is hypocritical of us to enforce a policy that we don’t also follow,” she said. “We do have our cell phones on us at any given time, but it is mainly in the case of emergencies and for communication with our administrators.

Bare said that the new policy has been a “huge adjustment period” for Venice.

“A lot of teachers have to adjust their curriculum to accommodate the policy,” she said. “But it seems like it’s going pretty well so far.”

English teacher Gloria Gonzalez said that the policy has allowed for less disruptions during class and nearly no violations. 

“It’s helped my classroom routine because I don’t have to spend time telling students to put their phones away,” she said. “There’s a little bit of additional work for me because of the added homeroom period, but I think it’s been worth it.”

Though there were some student concerns about the restrictions of the phone policy, it seems that many are seeing some of the positive effects.

Senior Mina Simpson said that although she doesn’t see students actually putting their phones in the lock box, less students have had their phones out during instruction. She said that the ban doesn’t affect her personally, except for some minor inconveniences.

“Sometimes it’s annoying since I can’t have my phone during nutrition and lunch, especially when I have to text my friends about where we’re eating, or my parents before school ends,” she said.

 Moving forward, Simpson said that some teachers may have to find alternative ways to instruct during class, because of their use of cell phones.

“I know that during some classes, teachers use them for taking pictures or accessing other assignments, so I feel like we’re going to have to find a way to replace the function of phones,” she said.

Sophomore Ashlinn Dwyer said that she thinks students should be able to use their phones during nutrition and lunch.

“We should be able to use our free time to wind down and relax with friends after having a long day of classes,” she said.

However, Dwyer said that the policy has helped her be able to be more “productive” in the classroom.

“I’ve been able to get my work done because there aren’t any distractions for me anymore,” she said. “But we should still be able to have our phones during breaks.”

Even though students are able to use their phones during an emergency, sophomore Sage Smith said that emergencies are much more common than people realize.

“Within the last two years, I’ve had to text my parents that there was a bomb threat, that school was closed early due to the Palisades fires, and that I might be exposed to whooping cough,” she said. “I think it’s really inconvenient to not have that contact with them anymore.”

Despite some of the policy’s restrictions, Guerrero still supports a phone-free campus.

“I think the fact that phones are not allowed in the classroom anymore allows for greater opportunities for students to acquire more knowledge.”

Guerrero said that the policy is “a double-edged sword.”

“The policy has benefited some people, but it also has hurt others,” he said. “I can understand both sides of that, but at the same time, I think the effects overall are positive.”