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I’ve written before about the good, bad, and ugly when it comes to cell phones in general, and to cell phones in classrooms in particular. They can be valuable tools, but they can also be a huge detriment to learning.

Over the last couple of decades, as cell phones became ubiquitous in the hands of teenagers, many schools decided the battle to keep them entirely out of sight during the school day was not worth the headache. Policies softened so that students could openly use them during class changes and lunchtime. The kids were expected to put them away during instruction. Depending on the teacher’s classroom management, I guess, that expectation has been largely flouted.

You may have read recently about some schools and systems around the country utilizing a new “pouch” technology. It basically works like this: Upon entering the building in the morning, students place their phones in individual fabric bags (similar in size to a lady’s large wallet) which are then locked. The kids can keep their pouches with them during the day, and the bags are unlocked (with a device similar to the ones used by department stores to remove anti-theft tags from clothing) as they exit the school in the afternoons.

This is a workable but controversial method to keep kids engaged in the learning process and not constantly distracted by tweets, Instagram, texts, and internet rabbit holes. As you can imagine, teenagers feel as though a body part has been amputated, and parents complain about not being able to stay in contact with their children as they deem necessary.

Locally, Callaway High principal Jason Graham was interested in exploring the technology but hesitant to commit completely to the protocol. He and other school leaders have come up with a way to pilot the pouch without going in whole hog.

First, teachers could volunteer to give the pouches a try in their classrooms only. At the beginning of class, students lock their phones in pouches that remain on their desks. At the end of class, an unlocking device is circulated in the room to unlock the pouches. It takes about two minutes.

On a recent visit to CHS, board members were able to visit a couple of classrooms to see the pilot in action and talk to the students. Unsurprisingly, most of them were not too happy about being cut off from their phones for over an hour. But when asked if they thought they were paying better attention to the subject matter, several reluctantly nodded their heads.

The data will be telling. The pouches were not introduced until the second nine weeks. It will be interesting to see if averages improve over the first nine weeks. Also telling: teachers report that requests to leave class to use the restroom have greatly diminished. Why? Because students could take their phones to the bathroom to make calls or openly text or use social media. Now they can’t.

With the unlocking devices available in the classroom, the problem of not being able to communicate with home in the event of a schoolwide emergency goes away, because the teacher can let the students unlock their phones while sheltering in place. For non-emergency needs, parents and students can get in touch the old-fashioned way – through the office. Parents of students in the pilot classes were informed about the details and Graham says there has been very little pushback from them.

Kudos to Callaway for implementing a not-too-painful way of experimenting with a program that could prove to be a smart path to better student achievement. School leaders across the county continue to think outside the box when it comes to school improvement, and there is no doubt their forward thinking will reap huge benefits.