Responsible Use of Personal Digital Devices

Personal digital devices are important to students however, irresponsible use of devices can cause disruptions during instructional time. Research has shown cellphones result in students being distracted 20% of the school day – the equivalent of a student missing 36 days of school. To support student learning at Captain Nichola Goddard School, we have developed a policy which takes this research into consideration: 

Personal Digital Device Definition

For this policy, a personal digital device is any handheld device that has internet access, texting, music or gaming capabilities.

School Expectations

• Personal digital devices are not to be used for personal communication or entertainment anywhere within the school during class time.
• Personal digital devices are not permitted in the classrooms during instructional time unless direct permission is given by the supervising teacher.
• When specific learning situations support personal digital device use and teacher permission is given, students must remain in the classroom.
• All devices should be locked in lockers during class time, not in back packs, bags, pockets, purses etc.
• Personal digital devices are not permitted as calculators on assessments.
• Only students with a documented IPP accommodation will be permitted to use personal digital devices in class (music, text to speech, word processing, etc) in collaboration with and under the supervision of a classroom teacher or educational assistant. 
• Students with accommodations misusing personal digital devices will  lose the opportunity to have them in class.

Disciplinary Measures

Students who do not follow these personal device guidelines and repeatedly use their device in an inappropriate manner or at inappropriate times will be addressed through escalating levels of discipline in accordance with the Progressive Discipline Policy of the CBE:

1. Request to turn personal digital devices off and put it away in student’s locker.
2. Student sent to the office for administration intervention. Teacher contacts parents/guardians to discuss strategies and solutions.
3. Contact with parents/guardians by administration.
4. Repeated offences will be treated as refusal to comply with the rules of the school and dealt with accordingly.

Parental Contact with Students

Parents/guardians who need to contact their child can contact the office and leave a message. Alternatively, parents and guardians can wait for their child to respond to electronic messages at nutrition and lunch break when they have access to their devices.