EAST SYRACUSE, NY (NCC News) – Bishop Grimes assistant principal Pat Kinne makes his rounds throughout the school day. One thing he doesn’t have to worry about is seeing students glued to their smartphones instead of paying attention to the lessons.
Bishop Grimes requires that students in grades 7-11 place their cell phones in holding bins located in their homeroom. The private Catholic school, located in East Syracuse, provides students with personalized i-Pads for their work, and they can pick up their cell phones at the end of the day.
“We knew early on that cell phones were distracting and were limiting social interactions that students were having with each other,” said Kinne.
Bishop Grime’s policy was implemented four years ago, and many New York schools may establish similar restrictions.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a plan to restrict the use of personal devices in K-12 public schools. Starting at the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year, students will not be allowed to use phones, smart watches, or personal tablets in any school space. This includes classrooms, hallways, cafeterias and study halls.
However, some schools have taken alternative routes. Last week the Central Square School District announced that its high school students can have access to their phones outside of class. Elementary and middle school students are required to keep their phones turned off and stored away for the day.
The school said it was an effort to ensure that students could be in contact with their parents. The Syracuse City School District has not implemented any new policies as they it is currently awaiting more information from the state, according to district media director Amanda Malinowski.
Since Bishop Grimes is a private school, it doesn’t have to follow the mandates that the public ones do, according to Kinne. The school previously had a policy similar to the one Central Square proposed. However, results were mixed. After the current policy came into effect, students were able to focus more on their work.
“When you don’t constantly have social media going off or a text message coming in or any number of apps notifying you while they’re in class, they’re just able to be more present,” he said.
Most of the time, the students have shown to be compliant with the policy, Kinne said.
Since implementing the policy, Bishop Grimes teachers and staff have noticed an increase in social interaction among students. Kinne says students are more present in their classroom environments.
Sarah Kinne is a Spanish teacher at the school and her classroom is one of the homerooms where students place their phones.
“It does eliminate distractions during the day at least of this kind,” said Sarah Kinne.
One exception to the rule is that seniors are allowed to keep phones with them as a privilege. According to Pat Kinne, they demonstrate better focus and awareness of when to use their phones compared to students in other grades.
“They understand the gravity of being on social media. That there’s a time and a place for it,” he said.
Transcript of video
Louie Genovese: At Bishop Grimes Junior and Senior High School in East Syracuse, students carry everything they need for class except their personal smart phones. Insteas relying on school provided I-Pads for their work.
Pat Kinne: “They don’t need their cell phones for any sort of technology help or anything like that because the Ipads that the school issues them have everything that they need.”
Louie Genovese: “Bishop Grimes’ policy is to have students place their cell phones in cases like this located in their homeroom and pick them up at the end of the day. Spanish teacher Sarah Kinne says most of her students are usually compliant.”
Sarah Kinne: “It does eliminate distractions during the day at least of this kind.”
Louie Genovese: The school established this policy four years ago, and other state schools will have to follow suit with Governor Kathy Hochul’s cell phone ban to go into affect later this year.
However, other districts like central square took a different route, allowing high-school students to use their phones outside classroom areas.
A spokesperson for Syracuse City says we have not implemented any new policies until we have more confirmation from the state.
Kinne says seniors are given a special privelege to keep their phone since,
Pat Kinne: “They really understand the gravity of being on social media. That there’s a time and a place for it. And during the middle of class it’s not the time or the place.”
Louie Genovese: That time will be outside of the classroom, Louie Genovese NCC News.