Prairie High School students can expect an upcoming change next year. A new cell phone policy will be released during the first few days of the next school year. The process of making this policy change is happening now. 

A lot goes into making a cell phone policy for our students, and determining what it should look like at PHS next year. Some tools being used to create this policy are the district handbook, the viewpoints from admin and teachers, as well as students and families in our community. “We’re not building this in isolation, we’re making sure everyone has a voice and an input in the making of this,” says principal Mrs. Woehr. Similar to the tardy policy implemented this year, there will also be rules when it comes to cell phone use in the classroom environment.

The tier one committee here at Prairie is the group creating this policy, “The tier one committee is made up of staff members, admin, as well as parents and students. We currently have three students that serve on our tier one committee and the focus of the committee is to help set structure and produce a positive climate at prairie high school,” states Mrs. Mofford, the facilitator of the tier one committee. 

Students and family members’ opinions matter and are taken into consideration when designing a new cell phone policy, students, as well as family members, were sent a survey to voice what they want to see in the new policy. “This is where you get to have a voice when we put out these surveys its because we want to know what you think, we take your voice and opinions into consideration when building these policies and procedures in the school, if you care about how your school looks and how things function around here speak up and tell us,” says Mrs. Woehr.

This new policy is made is to help students engage more in the classroom without the distraction of a cell phone, and to be able to use them as a tool in the right ways. “What’s been brought to our attention by staff and students is that sometimes cell phones can be a really big help but other times they can be a distraction if not used correctly, my goal would be for students to engage in classwork and to use their time and tools wisely,” Says Mrs. Mofford.