As the investment of ‘Yondr’ pouches for Baird Middle School began for the first time this year, individuals alike within our student body have begun to speculate whether or not the same will be implemented into the high school.

What are Yondr pouches exactly, and how do they operate?

Yondr pouches are magnetic devices that allow phones to be locked inside of them. The brand has been typically implemented toward school environments, however the company has noted it can be used for any occasion and/or place. Yondr pouches’ influence within a school setting throughout the country has been stated to be growing rapidly. 

In the past decade, all 50 states had at least invested in the pouches once. NBC News clarifies this in an article from last December: “In the past eight years, school districts in 41 states have spent $2.5 million to buy pouches from Yondr, according to Govspend, a database of government contracts and purchases. Most of the spending has occurred since May 2022, according to Govspend, as concern has grown over phones in schools and the effects of smartphone use on children.” 

The reason as to why the Yondr pouches would cost schools heavily would be the reason the unit price for a singular pouch tends to vary between 25 to 30 dollars.

The company’s page clarifies for proper usage of Yondr pouches when entering a ‘phone-free’ area, students place their phones into their provided pouch and link the magnetic piece onto a magnetic base to ensure it’s closed for the duration of the day. Students then remove their phone from the pouches when repeating the action of linking the magnetic piece onto the base to unlock it.

The purpose behind the pouches within a school setting is to ensure that students place their attention on academics, rather than what is occurring on their devices.

Multiple districts that expressed their results with the product showed that the implementation of Yondr pouches brought up 83% of improvement toward student engagement in the classroom, 74% of improvement toward student behavior, and a 65% increase in academic performance.

Should we expect them to be eventually implemented?

The answer seems uncertain, as Mrs. Nemeth and Sarah Bowler, the chair of the school board, seemed unsure about the future of Ludlow High School and its relationship with Yondr pouches when asked.

Mrs. Nemeth when given the question whether or not Yondr pouches would come to the high school: “That’s a hard question to answer. Maybe yes, maybe no. I will be talking with Mr. Taylor, the principal at the middle school to see if his data shows that perhaps grades have improved, behaviors in the classroom have improved, if students are more engaged in the lessons taught, and how parents and teachers feel about the Yondr pouches.” 

Mrs. Nemeth expressed the lengthy changes and events that would have to occur before even dabbling with Yondr’s products: “Before I even start to think about Yondr pouches at the high school I’d do a survey with LHS parents, teachers and students for their input and then I’d need to talk with the superintendent to see if we even have the money to do it….it is expensive to purchase them. I personally think they would be good to have here at the high school but I do not stand alone in making the decision whether or not the high school gets them.”

Sarah Bowler’s answer to whether or not Yondr pouches could potentially be implemented in Ludlow High School: “The cell phone policies at the middle and high schools are different in that there is to be no use at BMS and use at LHS is allowed to some extent. With that said, the admin made the decision over the summer to use Yondr to enforce the current policy at BMS. In order for Yondr to be brought to LHS we would have to change policy and that is not something that has been brought before the board yet. Could it happen before the end of the school year? Sure. If it was to be changed then funding for the pouches would need to be sought so that the policy could be implemented.”

As shown by both individuals, the answer seems unsure and still up in the air. Although outside of Ludlow High School district, there has been largely positive feedback and results from most districts investing in Yondr pouches. This is shown through the middle school, as multiple teachers have praised the pouches when questioned about their opinion about it. Even going to the point that it would be beneficial to the high school if we had invested in the company as well.

While there is a large amount of positive feedback for Yondr pouches by teachers; there are a couple of controversies surrounding them by students. The most common worry tends to vary around the situation where they would not be able to contact a parent in an emergency situation. The usually mediocre budget of the school had also worried the student body when rumors about Yondr pouches began last year.

As of August 2024, Baird implemented Yondr pouches into the middle school. In the previous school year, Ludlow High School had and is most likely still attempting to get a grant to obtain Yondr pouches for the school.

Are there any other schools around us investing in Yondr pouches?

Ludlow High School’s partial branching trade school, CTEC, had Yondr pouches prior to the middle school began implementing them. A handful of students had admitted to seeing others easily break their pouches open when questioned about their experience with Yondr.

Such sights included students breaking the pouches open by slamming the magnetic piece of the pouch against a hard surface to retrieve their phones. Others had expressed simply bringing magnets from home to open the pouches without the magnetic base typically used.

There have also been occasions where students avoid placing their phones in the pouches at all, and rather place other devices such as burner phones, Nintendo DS’, and multiple other electronics that could replicate the shape of an actual phone. This would occur due to the fact most people taking part in avoiding putting their phones aren’t being fully watched by the teachers and/or staff at the trade school.

The resistance shown by CTEC students to putting their phones in the pouch poses whether or not Yondr pouches will truly be that effective if implemented in the high school.

What about the calculator pouches we’ve been using now?

A large percentage of teachers in our high school usually require students to put their phones into phone pouches, and/or a “phone jail.” The numbered pockets were originally for calculators, although now are being used as a makeshift way to store away phones. This, however, raises the question — is it not already more preferred by both cost and effort to continue using the numbered pouches rather than magnetic ones?

The question was answered by three teachers from the middle school, both Mrs. D’Amore, Mrs. Taggart, and Mr. Soja.

While answering whether or not our pouches or Yondr’s would suffice better, Mrs. D’Amore provided basic criticism over the calculator pouches when “using phone pouches in every classroom last year, and they were extremely problematic and ineffective. Taking time from every class period to place phones in pouches at the start of class then retrieve them before leaving detracted from teaching and learning opportunities.” 

Mrs. Taggart expressed similar values when given the same question as “one major benefit of the Yondr pouch is that the student keeps possession of the phone at all times. Students are often reluctant to turn a phone over to someone else (i.e., teacher, office, etc.)”, which was a slightly varied perspective that had not been mentioned in Mrs. D’Amore’s answer. 

Mr. Soja closely shares the familiar sentiment toward the usage of the calculator pouches, as “the Yondr pouch is more beneficial than the cubbies on the wall. It is like the saying ‘out of sight out of mind’ Students do not see their phone but also have the reassurance that they are in possession of their phone. When the phones were on the wall, students could actually see their phone and other students’ phones,” and continued to briefly mention that students felt more secure with their phones in their possession.

Would the high school actually go through with it?

No, at least not this year. Next year, or the following year after? Potentially!

Remember, the high school is still likely within the process of monitoring the academic growth of students in the middle school. Although all three teachers that were interviewed had mentioned there were almost immediate behavioral changes when junior-high students had gone past the first few weeks of the school year. It’s far too early in the school year to see whether or not they would benefit students on MCAS and MAP testing.

Due to their already pinched budget, the main reason they need a grant to invest in Yondr, it may take longer than anticipated to follow along with other high schools surrounding us. The high school still needs to receive the grant necessary to spend on Yondr pouches at all, however, this gives us plenty of time to continue our classes Yondr-free. 

To put it simply, there’s nothing to genuinely worry about. They’re just pouches with a couple of extra steps. Which shouldn’t be as much of a struggle to get used to if implemented in the upcoming years.

Sources:

https://www.overyondr.com/phone-locking-pouch

https://www.overyondr.com/phone-free-schools

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/gadgets/yondr-phone-pouch-lock-school-rcna128247