(Updated at 4:45pm Wednesday to include comment from Superintendent Liam Skinner)
Kendrick Del Orbe, a Lowell High student and a member of the City’s Youth Engagement Commission, is leading the charge to have the school’s new cellphone policy disconnected.
Del Orbe, who started a change.org petition, reached out to InsideLowell over the weekend to voice his opposition to the policy which is set to go into effect January 24. The LHS Junior also wanted to clarify that he is in no way affiliated with the lhs.walk.out social media page that is pushing for a mass student walk out and using language such as “oppressive” and “tyrannical,” and demanding policy makers “heed our call or be prepared to face the consequences of an uprising you’ve provoked.”
“I started the Change.org petition to shed light on as issue and on a policy that I believe, along with many of my peers, to be inappropriately expedited with absolutely no student or parent input,” Del Orbe tells InsideLowell. “I have no connection to the various Instagram pages that have been created in the wake of my starting this petition. My intentions were never to incite disruption of education, and I worry that the growing disdain for the administration and calls for a walkout will entirely jeopardize our collective bargaining and ability to compromise.”
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has encouraged districts to begin implementing tighter cellphone guidelines meant to curb use in the classroom, though the state has not pushed for a uniform policy for all cities and towns to follow.
Last July, Lowell High adopted their new policy which prohibits cell phone use in the classroom but permits it in the hallways during class changes and in the cafeteria during lunch. Students will be required to place their cellphone into a designated container. Any violation will lead to the phone being confiscated and a loss of the privilege to carry one in school.
The policy further spells out that while the school will secure the property, any loss or damage remains with the student, which is the main issue for Del Orbe. (full policy also published below)
“I do not have an issue with this in principle, per se, but my concern stems from a provision added that seemingly moves to absolve LPS of any responsibility for damages,” he writes. “If staff have the right to forcibly take our property, then it should be that responsibility and liability for the property shifts entirely unto the school. If my phone is taken by force by an administrator, and I receive it back with a crack running right down the middle, under no circumstances should responsibility for damages shift back unto me, as it was not in my possession. Furthermore, this raises a safety and security risk, in today’s day and age, anything could happen inside of school, and having the ability to maintain constant contact with our parents and guardians is one of the few things that offers us students a sense of security and safety.”
However, when asked if he’d drop his opposition should the responsibility be assumed by the schools,
“I do not think simply removing this is enough,” Del Orbe replied. “While I do not oppose the authority of the school and its decision, I will not support the way this process was expedited by school staff with no parent or student input. I believe that students are the biggest stakeholders in a school district, so to ignore their needs and concerns is unacceptable behavior from LPS leadership.”
Lowell School Superintendent Liam Skinner believes in time, the benefits to the students will far outweigh any disruption to their routine.
“Like so many school districts all across the country, we are concerned about the educational and mental health impacts of cellphones on our youngsters,” Skinner said. “The policy was put into place to address these needs of students. We understand that change is difficult and the policy will be reviewed at the end of the school year, but we urge the students to unplug and give it a chance.”
2 responses to “Not All LHS Students Dialed into Cell Phone Policy”
I am not a tyrant but a responsible professional
The same way my students are professionals in the making.
January 20,2024
Remember the days, pre-pandemic, when students had blue lockers assigned to put their backpacks and other belongings including expensive sports gear? The school used to provide them with a lock and number at the beginning of the school year. This number was printed in their schedules.These blue lockers are still decorating our hallways with not used. But they are fundamental parts of the new gym. This shows how a school needs to adapt to the times and look for more suitable storage places to keep students’ expensive belongings safe.
I never heard about a petition to ban the blue locker school policy. Although it seems ridiculous to have a policy for the blue lockers; Yes, we had one: students would go to their locker 3 times a day to place and retrieve their material according to the classes they would have in the morning and in the afternoon. Students were eager to go to their locker to put and retrieve their belongings, sometimes expensive sports gear. Nobody was looking forward to blaming the school staff for damages to any student ‘s property that was placed in the blue locker; a lock made it safe. Now we have the same concept but the item to be placed by the students themselves is a cell-phone in a smaller locker, conveniently located in each classroom and under the supervision and key of each teacher. They still have to visit this little locker every time they change classes. Maybe they would have a few minutes to exchange a few words with their classmates and proceed with their phones in hand to the next room which will provide them with the same service for free. I have gone to parks and other places where they charge me for this service, but Lowell High School, considering how important it is for its students to be able to communicate with family members during the transition from one class to another every 50 minutes, has facilitated direct access to the phone between each class. Now they don’t have to travel long distances to reach their precious
belonging in a locker in another building. It is now accessible and visible at all times in each classroom. This time under the teacher’s supervision.
I was surprised and heartbroken that the same procedure with a different element created such a petition in which teachers have been branded as uncommitted and condescending. To be condescending is to look down. I would be condescending if I didn’t set higher standards and allow my students to use their phones for entertainment rather than engage them in the class. These words do not define the human resources of our school community. Neither the administrators on the front line of attacks, nor the teachers who have to endure the effect of cell phone abuse after long hours of preparing their lessons, nor the security personnel who put their lives as a shield to protect our students and our broader school community every day.
I recognize based on my personal experience that we still have areas for improvement, but I certainly have to testify that, when I walk through our hallways I see teachers greeting students at the door, playing the guitar to welcome them to class; sitting with students at lunch to have a meaningful experiences; I see school staff talking, sharing moments, ideas and concerns with our students; I see how teachers use new technology and applications to develop meaningful, relevant and engaging lessons. I see the decorations in the classrooms, the occasional little gift to celebrate creating a family atmosphere. I hear songs sung, I hear advice to guide students with words of comfort when we see those who are sad or struggling. I see teachers staying after school for meetings or simply creating lesson plans after the school day is over. Personally, I’ve seen all of this in just one walk down the halls. How condescending and insensitive is this? I must admit, I wasn’t on my cell phone when I noticed it. I invite you to put your phone away just once as you walk down the hall and tell me if you see anything different. It all depends on what attracts your eyes.
As a teacher and proud member of the Lowell High School community, what concerns me deeply is the number of people, many of whom are not even Lowell High School students, who are signing this petition and encouraging our students to sign this petition with inflammatory and denigrating comments towards the school and its staff without taking a responsible look at the facts. Facts that have not been overlooked by the public but by the people behind the petition.
These are the facts, based on the statistics presented by Analysis of the Lowell Public Schools Hispanic-Latino/a/x/e Experience Report CPE 2205; conducted by Jill Hendrickson Lohmeier, Ph.D., Teresa I. Gonzales, Ph.D Shanna R. Thompson, Ed.D.
Submitted to: Latifah Phillips, Lowell Public Schools on October 25, 2022.
The Center for Program Evaluation was contracted by Lowell Public Schools (LPS) and Fortaleza to conduct an analysis of the Hispanic-Latino/a/x/e students in this school district. It is important to clarify that this initiative was made with the collaboration of parents and students of our district and it is open to the public in the Fortaleza web site as well as in the LPS. As a member of the hispanic population I cannot adopt a silent posture on the face of this petition which I consider detrimental and contradicting the efforts of LPS and CPE based on this report. I consider that this petition is targeting the very same students that are addressed in this report. Among the various types of challenges identified as “need to be addressed” in our schools that are stopping us as a school district to ensure educational equity, and to remove systemic barriers impacting the education outcomes of Latino students are:
English proficiency- perceived as unattainable for our students.
Develop and implement inclusive policies and practices.
Engage Hispanic-Latino/a/x/e students in classes and have high expectations.
Strengthen relationships between students and school personnel.
Address racial and ethnic inequalities, discrimination, prejudices, and stereotypes.
Increase resources and support for students and families.
Increase mental health resources and support.
Some of the recommendation presented in this report include:
Encourage more connections. Students would like to see more connections between teachers and parents.
They would also like students to develop connections with each other more through integrated opportunities where they can get to know each other and learn from each other.
Provide more academic support, especially for reading in English as that skill affects every class.
Students felt more time to practice English was needed. Classes should have bilingual teachers or access to translators as well as tools like Spanish-English dictionaries and Google Translate when needed.
The MCAS and other standardized tests should be provided in multiple languages.
They would like to see bilingual study groups established for doing homework and more group work being employed in classrooms.
Bullying. Several parents also brought up bullying as challenges Hispanics-Latinos/as/xs/es students face. Another parent had to report a bullying incident that involved a classmate sending her elementary student inappropriate text messages.
Students believe more should be done about mental health awareness especially because the pandemic exacerbated already existing issues.
I am not including all the facts, observations and recommendations in my statement from this report, but you can find a full copy at the web page of FORTALEZA https://fortaleza-inc.org/ under the section “REPORTS” or Here REPORT .
Think about how the ban on this cell-phone policy would make this barrier even wider for our English language learners students and for the latino hispanic population for whom the easy access to their cellphones in classes becomes a tool for alienation and isolation from peers and teachers. Being able to interact with each other without the barrier of a cell-phone is fundamental in developing the language. Consider how the easy access to a cell-phone has the potential to exclude the students from their immediate surrounding and learning environment. How can we as a community address these challenges and follow these recommendations if we do not remove from the system the habits, attitudes, lack of structure and stereotypes that are the root cause of these challenges? Certainly cell-phones in the lock box won’t solve all of the challenges we face, but in my opinion it is a good start because it will create the engagement which leads to an interesting curriculum, hands-on learning and positive, helpful teachers. There are multiple steps that have been taken in our schools to provide the necessary tools that students need to have access to technology in the classroom which make the use of cell-phones unnecessary. Each student has a chromebook provided by the school with access to wifi. As a teacher, I know that this has made a huge difference in the development of the lessons and resources I could use in class.
Call my attention that the number of signatures in the petition is almost identical to the number of hispanic latino students at LHS. Is this petition directed to them?
Of the 38% of our Hispanic population students many are under-performing. Our population here in Lowell is already behind in many areas in academics. I am not establishing that it is only caused by cell phone use, but surely a cell phone policy in place would make a difference in the development of language skills in a way that our population of hispanic- latino students can also achieve growth across the curriculum. “It takes a village to raise a child.” But if the whole village does not stand together for what makes education accessible but to the contrary stand for what is taking our hispanic population away from the classroom then we are contributing to the problem not to the solution by limiting our potential.
This petition is detrimental and contradicts the efforts of “La casa.” Consider this. I cannot advocate for diabetic patients and at the same time advocate for having more candies vending machines available. Is contradicting my end goal. The same way I cannot advocate for better opportunities for our newcomers students, especially the hispanic population and at the same time advocate for the easy access of the device that is contributing to their alienation in the classroom and in the whole building keeping them away from meaningful connections with peers, school staff and educators. Do we want to keep them engage or entertain? This petition might have the right vision; to advocate for students’ rights, which I admire, but it certainly needs to take a deeper look into what cause it is fighting for. Solid constructions require solid foundation.
The same way a new school is under construction for which has been necessary to demolish old buildings to make it suitable for this generation of students; in the same fashion, our vision, curriculum, strategies and policies are under construction and it takes to remove old ideas, stereotypes and attitudes that belong to the past. When the physical school is finally finished this generation of students will be ready for it.
Today I have to endure a couple of student passing by my classroom directing these words to me in a sarcastic fashion: “Thanks for saving the world”,even I do not know these students, I certainly know that these words are being express in the context of the petition and the opposition to the cell phone policy. I can read in this petition, which is using incendiary language, these phrases :
“unprecedented authority”,
“stricter policy, “
“widespread opposition,”
“overt security risk”,
“unengaging curriculum and condescending teachers.”
“infringing on students’ security or”
“creating unnecessary tension,”
“the desire for helpful teachers.(making the readers to infer that teacher are not helpful)”
“and taken from us”
How come after using these expressions anybody could expect this not to become a call for violence or an uprising against teachers and school staff? How using this language would ensure educational equity, and to remove systemic barriers impacting the education outcomes of Latino students and students overall? Teachers are facilitators in the learning process of our students. It is natural that our role as a teacher is perceived by students as an authority in the classroom, but from authority to tyrant (unprecedented authority) there is a big difference and in my opinion, labeling us as such is very unfair and demeaning. Such a language would have the same effect for police officers, ministers, and anyone who holds a leadership position. Let’s be clear, there could be no learning if there is no structure. A teacher who does not project authority is the real risk to student safety. Our protocols, procedures and curriculum are aimed at ensuring a healthy school environment, as well as developing an engaging instructional and learning space. We are not the Mall, we are a School. We have to agree that a student who is constantly using the cell phone or waiting for a call, a message, a joke, a “like” or “dislike” will not find any class interesting, even if the class takes place on a football field. In the United States parents testify about how relationships with their children have been negatively affected at home due to excessive cell phone use, which in my opinion is the real safety risk.
This is the real problem that has manifested itself in our society: mobile phones are creating a society that communicates well with those who are far away but distances our young people from those closest to them. The lockbox doesn’t give me more authority in my classroom, but cell phone use is certainly detrimental because it creates a toxic air in classes and affects how teachers can make meaningful connections with students. While there are students determined enough to keep their cell phones away during class, we have to recognize that there are a considerable number who do not do so for whom putting away their cell phones is a real emotional struggle. By allowing the student to transition to this policy, we are truly advocating for the emotional health of students. Leading them to take back their lives from big tech companies that have cleverly designed apps to keep them on their phone 24/7 and away from their immediate reality. This is a real risk to students safety; not being aware of their surroundings. What is best for the student sometimes cannot be determined by a student who does not have the ability to put away a cell phone to allow learning to occur.It can be expected that the students’ perspective on this issue will be different than the perspective of school staff who have to take instructional time to address multiple violations of the cell phone policy instead of teaching an interesting lesson. Any cell phone use has the potential to disengage the most diligent student from any class. Several artists and singers, such as Miranda Lambert, have had problems performing on stage at their concerts because fans using their cell phones interrupt their artistic work. I know for a fact the long hours teachers put in the preparation of their lesson, in particular this year because of the accommodation made to provide room for teachers that do not have a classroom assigned. Prep. Time has become a challenge but we embrace it because we know it is necessary and perhaps temporary. Our sight is in the future building rather than the inconveniences of the current one. It is in the best interest of the students that our classes become the spaces to analyze literature, solve mathematical problems, interpret formulas, express opinions eloquently and develop language so that together we could build a society where we can communicate with each other in a respectful, articulate and competent manner. The cell phone in the box will help us to get there.
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As a mother, a teacher and a member of the hispanic community I know firsthand how putting the cell phone aside and opening up the space and time to create a meaningful connection has a direct and positive effect on self-esteem and expectations in life. I wouldn’t feel confident having my child in a classroom where the student next to his seat uses a cell phone disrupting his level of attention. This leads me to conclude that as a teacher I am not a tyrant but a responsible professional in ensuring that all students have access to education in an environment that promotes respect and has consideration for others. I owe it to my students who show up to my classroom to learn every day. We owe it to our 4,000 students who come to our school to build a prosperous future every day.
In a country where we see school shutting all over and have seen how teachers leave their life in their classroom; calling a walk out and using words as tyrant,unengaging and condescending. It is demonizing the teachers and an unnecessary call for violence against us. Which in my opinion is a real risk to our students’ safety.
I support Lowell High School’s cell phone policy not because I want to show that I am a tyrant, but because I care about my students’ learning and their future, which is more important than where my phone is when it comes to learning. I am the first one to put my own cell-phone in the box. It is safe and secure.
Thanks. Obrigado, Saum Arkoun, Gracias.
Amarilis Delgado
Spanish teacher
Are teachers, staff, principals, superintendents just as willing to not have their phones through the classroom time? It is a hard question and deserves input from the parents and students.