Richmond, Va. (Newsradiowrva.com) - Martin Luther King, Jr. Middle School has become the first of six Richmond schools to implement a pilot program to get phones out of students' possession while at school.
As part of a pilot program with Yondr, students will be asked to go through a bag check and security wanding. They will then be asked to turn their cell phones off and place them in a Youndr-brand locked pouch.
“Akron, Ohio, actually did a pilot program with Yondr — very similar demographics to ours,” John Beazley, director of safety and security, told our partners at 8News. “So, we discussed it with them, and they had very good outcomes, good success.”
Ultimately, school officials hope participating in the program will help reduce distractions in the classroom. Richmond Public Schools joins other cities and counties across the county that have gone phone-free through a partnership with Yondr.
The six Richmond Public Schools participating in the program are:
• Dogwood Middle School
• Martin Luther King Jr Middle School
• River City Middle School
• Huguenot High School
• John Marshall High School
• Open High School
The five remaining schools will start using the phone pouches starting on Jan. 22. At the end of the semester, RPS will determine if the program was a success based on evaluation and feedback.
