Development of a plan for a month without phones means big changes are coming for students. Discussions are currently underway to finalize the plan for No Phone November, a policy first announced at an assembly last month. The policy is intended to be a limited trial that will determine how the school progresses with phone usage regulations for the rest of the year.

“The faculty has been grappling with the question of the role that devices in general are playing in the lives of students at school for a long time,” Academic Dean Tom Anderson said.

Discussions planning No Phone November began this fall, though the concept for No Phone November has been discussed for several years. The school has had three different principals and two different deans in the last four years, preventing momentum from being gained on the policy until now.

Anderson, Principal Minnie Lee, Athletic Director Randy Comfort, and history teachers Ben Bollinger-Danielson and Aaron Shulow have convened several times since September to begin hashing out the details of the policy.

The only students involved with the meetings have been members of the Student Technology Committee (STC), including organization president Lorenzo Good. “Essentially, we have been making sure that the details of policies proposed by the administration make sense to serve the needs of the students, and feel fair to everyone involved,” Good said.

The meetings have largely revolved around the guidelines and consequences of violating the policy.

“We’re thinking both about, how do we structure the rules? How do we hold people accountable for the rules that we structure? But then also, how do we create an environment in which kids are going to be more likely to succeed?” Anderson said. “This really all comes down to us wanting to create an environment in which human connection is facilitated and more possible.”

Though referred to as No Phone November, a week of break and several days of conferences limit the number of school days in November to 14. “One of the ways in which I think we’re going to try to reframe it a little bit is just to say, yes, it is one of the calendar months, but there’s only this many days that we’re actually in session for the thing we’re trying,” Anderson said.

As the voice of the student body, STC members aim to offer perspective to the discussion that teachers and administration might not see. “Obviously, we did not have any input or involvement in the initial decision to go phone free, but we have been involved in questions related to implementation….I personally feel that the structure we have decided on will work well to encourage compliance, without being too harsh,” Good said.

Anderson is aware that students may be reluctant to alter their phone usage two months into the school year, but pitched the trial as a learning opportunity for students and faculty. “I would hope that people would use it as an opportunity to really monitor how they are feeling and interacting with one another when the phone isn’t an option that you can just turn to…How does that impact your thinking, your relationships, your connection with others?…Is it possible that in giving something up, we’re also gaining something else?”

The policy development is still underway, with the role of smartwatches and other smart devices in school under consideration.

No Phone November will be implemented on Nov. 1. The details of the policy will be announced to the school later this month.