School tones down cellphones in class

High-tech cases keep students off devices

Going to a concert or show where phones aren’t allowed is becoming commonplace — but it isn’t just artists who are requesting phone-free spaces.

One Las Vegas school is phasing in phone-free classrooms with the help of a company called Yondr. Founded in 2014 by CEO Graham Dugoni, Yondr is a simple concept that helps people break the cycle of constant media stimulation and aids them in engaging with the real world, all by simply locking up their smartphones.

Sierra Vista High School Principal John Anzalone had spent months brainstorming how to curb student cellphone use in class, but it wasn’t until he went to see Chris Rock perform stand-up that he found a solution.

“Every month we have meetings where teachers come to me, and every month it was the same thing: cellphones,” Anzalone said.

Per Rock’s request, the show required that the audience lock their phone in Yondr cases before entering the venue. If a guest needed the phone for any reason, he or she could leave the theater and swipe the case against an unlocking base to retrieve it. “So I’m sitting there through the show and I’m so engaged. I’m not worried about who’s texting me, I’m not checking social media, I’m not checking basketball scores, and I look around and no one is recording the show,” Anzalone says.

He left the show and realized that Yondr might be the solution at school too. The principal floated the idea to a handful of teachers and immediately purchased five sets to pilot the devices.

“Within two weeks they were the hit of the school,” Anzalone said. “Sever-

“Several kids said, ‘I haven’t paid this much attention in class since the third grade.’”

— John Anzalone, Principal, Sierra Vista High School

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