MIDLAND, Texas — Amid the buzz of school hallways and the hum of classroom discussion, smartphones are becoming a growing distraction.
Denise Norman, the parent of an MISD seventh grader, said "With Snapchat, TikTok, whether it's fights or buying things they shouldn't be buying, sending pictures that they shouldn't be sending, it's happening on the cell phones."
To keep the focus on learning, MISD will be enforcing a stricter cell phone policy for the 2024-2025 school year.
"Our campus administrators and district administration felt like, hey, this is a balance between elementary, junior high and high school," Deputy Superintendent, Roberto Cedillo said. "It's something that our campus administration can enforce."
For elementary and middle schoolers, cell phone use is prohibited for the whole school day. In high school, students can use their phones before and after school, during passing periods and lunch.
This isn't a new policy, it's just an upgraded one.
Deputy Superintendent Cedillo said the main goal here is to give every student the best education possible.
“It is our responsibility to prepare our students for college career or military, whatever that may be," he said. "We have a limited amount of time with our students. That's 45 minutes to 50 minutes or 8 hours a day with them. We have to have their undivided attention on teaching and learning, and so the stakes are high.”
With social media and cell phones having such a heavy influence in today's world, Denise made a decision about her son's education starting at home.
“My son is probably one of the unique junior high kids," she said. "He does not have a cell phone.”
For the kids who do have a phone, they won't need them in an MISD classroom.
Cedillo stated that the school district has "invested in millions of dollars going one to one with our chromebooks, so every child has a chromebook."
The electronic resource is available and the undivided attention is necessary.
When it comes to our future, MISD wants to help your student choose social studies over social media.