9th Grade Cell Phone Policy
- SPF Web
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
December 17, 2025
Aloha 9th Grade Searider 'Ohana,
Congratulations on completing your first semester as Wai‘anae Seariders! As we look not only to the upcoming semester but success over the next three years and five months at Wai‘anae High School, we are writing to inform you of a change to our 9th-grade classroom's cell phone procedures that will be implemented for all 9th-grade classes, effective Tuesday, January 6th, 2026.
Why the Change?
This change is being put in place to ensure that every student has the best possible learning environment and can maximize their instructional time in the classroom. Over the past few months, we have observed a substantial amount of lost learning time due to student cell phone usage during class time. Our primary mission is to educate, and continuous distractions undermine that goal. Beyond the loss of learning time, other critical reasons for this update include:
Minimizing Distractions: Cell phones, even when used briefly, disrupt the focus of the user and those around them, making it difficult for teachers to maintain momentum and for students to concentrate on challenging material.
Encouraging Face-to-Face Interaction: Class time is valuable for group work, discussion, and building collaborative skills. Removing the distraction of personal devices helps foster these essential social and academic interactions amongst their peers.
Reducing Chapter 19 Violations: Collecting phones helps prevent issues related to unauthorized picture/video taking or sharing, academic dishonesty, scheduling fights, and cyberbullying.
The New Procedure
Starting January 6th, the following procedure will be strictly followed for all 9th-grade classes:
Collection at the Door: At the beginning of every period, teachers will collect cell phones as students enter the classroom. If a student does not turn it in at the door, it must be stowed in their bag for the entirety of class - including restroom/water breaks. Cell phones must be turned off when collected or stowed.
Secured: Collected devices will be placed in a secure location for the duration of the class.
Return: Devices will be returned by the teacher at the end of the period.
It is essential that all students in 9th-grade classrooms comply with this new procedure to allow the
maximum amount of instructional time.
First Violation: If a student is seen with or using a cell phone - or other prohibited electronic device (see below) - during class time, either in the classroom or in common areas such as bathroom, water fountains, etc., the teacher will call an administrator. The administrator will come to the classroom to retrieve the phone. The student will only be able to pick up the device from the 9th-Grade Office at the end of the school day.
Multiple Violations: If a student incurs multiple violations, an administrator will again retrieve the device, and the cell phone will only be returned to a parent or guardian who must come to the school office to pick it up.
