Building a Community of Champions for Healthy Cell Phone Habits

Heads Up

Phones Down

An Initiative of our Community Foundation

About this Initiative

A current area of focus for our Community Foundation is the mental health and well-being of young people. Heads Up, Phones Down provides information and resources for our community to foster healthier social media and technology habits that promote more face-to-face interactions and better mental health. 

We invite parents, educators and community members to join us in this effort. Learn more about what we're doing here.

This Edition:

Cell Phone Limits in Schools

On May 21, the District 51 School Board unanimously approved a new policy to limit student use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices during the school day. School principals and teachers have reported that allowing students to have their phones throughout the school day increases behavior problems and conflict among students. Having phones present is also a disruption to learning and attention; studies have shown that even if students simply have their phone on their desk, their ability to focus is impaired.

School District 51 Superintendent Dr. Brian Hill and the school board want better for our students, and the new policy is a step in the right direction. Dr. Hill emphasizes that the goal is not to take phones away from students, but rather to give them back something that is lost when they are constantly distracted by the virtual world. The District hopes to create engaging spaces in the educational environment that foster sustained attention and maximized learning, free from the distractions of phones.



The policy is already having a positive effect on students. On the very first day of school, a middle school principal shared, “It was fantastic seeing the kids at lunch talking and laughing together. No one was sitting in isolation staring at a screen. Thank you for making this happen. It was only day one, but it was already a very noticeable improvement.”

This summer, the Western Colorado Community Foundation initiated an educational and fundraising initiative to support School District 51's recent policy of restricting cell phone usage in classrooms throughout the district. We are delighted to report that we have achieved our fundraising target of $100,000 to provide cell phone storage solutions for middle school and high school classrooms in D51.

A huge thank you to everyone who contributed and assisted us in reaching our objective. We look forward to receiving feedback from the schools on the effectiveness of these devices.

Students of West Middle School show off Yondr Pouches, one of the three cell phone storage options available to schools.

How states and schools are creating phone-free zones for healthier learning environments. 

Mountain Middle School in Durango is ahead of the curve in reducing the distraction of phones in classrooms, blazing a path that Mesa County hopes to follow. Principal Shane Voss implemented a phone ban over ten years ago out of concern for youth mental health and cyberbullying. Voss wanted the school to be a safe space, a sanctuary, where students could be free from the pressure to be constantly on social media. In contrast, Voss compares being in a school without a cell phone ban to the zombie apocalypse, with students walking around staring at their phones, heads down.

Now, kids at Mountain Middle School talk to each other and to teachers, rather than staring at their phones. The school has also demonstrated academic improvement and has achieved Colorado’s highest performance rating for several years; Voss credits the cell phone-free environment as a factor. Read the article here. 

“Away for the Day” is a movement encouraging schools to implement policies that require students to put phones away for the day. Developed by the team from the award-winning Screenagers documentaries, “Away for the Day” raises awareness on the problems phones cause in schools by sharing data, policies, and more. Their website provides a wealth of resources, including research on how cell phones impact students both academically and emotionally, video testimonials from students and school staff on how “Away for the Day” is working in their schools, and links to “Away for the Day” news articles. To learn more, check out their website: Away for the Day

In the absence of federal legislation, state governments are moving ahead to curb student phone use. Last year, Florida became the first state to pass a law prohibiting student cell phone use during class time, and the trend has only continued to snowball as other lawmakers and leaders have followed suit. Seven states have passed laws or enacted policies requiring or recommending school districts take action, including Alabama, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia, with others ready to join the movement. Read more about what’s happening at the state level here. 

On July 30^th, the Senate voted in favor of the Kids Online Safety and Privacy Act. If passed into law, this legislation would, among other requirements, require social media and gaming companies to design their platforms to prioritize children’s and teens’ safety and privacy over engagement and profits, it would minimize the data collected on minors, and force companies to change design features that maximize engagement. This legislation is intended to mitigate some of the harms associated with social media platforms, such as mental health disorders, addiction, and cyberbullying. The next step to move the legislation forward will require approval from the House of Representatives. To learn more about this crucial legislation, check out this summary from Common Sense Media.

The Western Colorado Community Foundation is a nonprofit, public charity established by local community leaders in 1996. We serve a seven county region that includes Delta, Eagle, Garfield, Mesa, Montrose, Ouray, and Rio Blanco Counties. We are growing steadily and now manage over 330 charitable funds totaling over $170 million in assets and award over $6.6 million in grants and scholarships annually.