Izaak Casteen, a representative from the company Yondr, gave the school board a presentation on what it would be like for New Hanover Schools to be 'personal device-free.' He cited studies and news articles supporting the use of their locking device bag, which costs around $30 each.
Yondr touts that because of their product, academic achievement, behavior, and attendance improve because students are no longer distracted and consumed by their devices.
The company led with the work of US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy and social scientist Jonathan Haidt, which shows that American students are more isolated, lonely, and disconnected. They say their overreliance on personal devices and social media contributes to that status.
Casteen said students would put their phones in their bags upon arrival and then be able to access them at departure. That way, teachers and staff would not have to battle with students throughout the day. All personal devices, including smartwatches, would go in the Yondr bag.
The board and acting superintendent, Dr. Christopher Barnes, asked what would happen if a student lost a bag, and Casteen responded that there would be a fee when that happened.
School board members agreed that they must act on cell phone use—either create a policy and/or choose a company to help them manage it. They added that since most of the district has a one-to-one initiative (having a device for each student), they could use those for lessons that integrate technology.
Board member Hugh McManus McManus said they have to act soon as it’s “impossible to teach” with students having phones, and they are the “worst social things I’ve ever seen.” He said that whatever the board decides, they must do it uniformly and enforce it. He added that he anticipates parent pushback on this idea, saying they would be concerned about being unable to communicate with their students in an emergency. Board member Stephanie Walker also mentioned that concern.
Board members like Walker and Stephanie Kraybill said the price tag might be too high, as the district anticipates the total cost for middle and high school students around $345,000. Kraybill said they could buy each classroom a cell phone holder modeled after the ones Hoggard High School tried several years ago. Still, she acknowledged that enforcement didn’t go as planned.
Board member Pat Bradford suggested that the county or the New Hanover Endowment could pay for Yondr-style device bags. She also proposed that the district use NC lottery funds or the North Carolina Center for Safer Schools (CSS) safety grant to pay for them.
Assistant Superintendent Eddie Anderson has told the board several times that the lottery funds are only used for capital projects — and the NC CSS grant funds are typically for School Resource Officers (SROs). Kraybill also mentioned that these funding sources cannot be used for personal device bags.
School board members said they’re meeting with principals next week to discuss how to proceed with the personal device policy and whether using Yondr’s bags would be a possible solution.
Across the Cape Fear River, two Brunswick County schools, Cedar Grove and Town Creek Middle Schools, are piloting the Yondr program for this upcoming fall semester. If successful, BCS Superintendent Dale Cole hopes to extend it to other schools in the spring.
Staff Town Hall: Work climate, student behavior, and new superintendent
Board members also discussed details of the NHCS staff town hall, planned for Tuesday, August 13, from 5:00 to 7:15 p.m. There will be three tables at each of the two rounds of discussion. Two with two board members and one with three. Each table/set of board members will have a topic for discussion: district climate, student behavior, and qualities for the next superintendent.
Staff who want to attend will sign up, and currently the district is saying that their names will not be recorded, but notetakers at each table will write down their comments anonymously. Barnes said that this town hall will not be live-streamed, but there will be a place for the community to sit in the back of the building and watch; however, it is likely those viewers will not be able to hear the conversations between staff and board members.
In May 2024, staff signaled their displeasure with both the administration and the board regarding the district’s climate. Shortly after this survey was released, former superintendent Dr. Charles Foust was fired. For this topic, staff will be asked about the district's strengths and weaknesses, ideas for creating a more supportive, inclusive environment, and how the district can support staff well-being.
Staff will also asked about challenges and successes in managing student behavior, strategies for improving conduct, and what staff needs from the district to address these behaviors effectively.
Student behavior
Student behavior has become a top concern among recent staff climate surveys. At Tuesday’s meeting, Assistant Superintendent Julie Varnam updated the board on in-school suspension (ISS) and out-of-school suspension (OSS) numbers but said the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) will not verify these until later this fall.
Varnam also announced that NHCS had come off the federal sanction list for disproportionally suspending students of color with disabilities. This meant that other exceptional children (EC) students lost millions in funding — however, that money went directly to addressing the disproportionality.
In the May board climate survey, some teachers and staff claimed there were directives not to give consequences or suspend students. Varnam said this is not the case — and that non-negotiables are students who commit violence — or bring weapons, use drugs or alcohol on campus, or consistently fail to respond to directives.
Barnes said he hopes to continue to work with staff on behavior/crisis management and de-escalation strategies.
Community members with the Love Our Children organization spoke during the public comment period about policy 4351, which covers suspensions. They want to include a requirement that principals have to call a parent or guardian before they suspend a student under the age of eight. At the board’s agenda review meeting before the August meeting, McManus asked Barnes if that could be in writing, and he said he would look into it.
After lobbying for this issue for nearly 17 months, some principals have told board members that they often call before making a determination. However, according to board member Josie Barnhart, having it in writing could hamper them in the investigation process.
Superintendent search, concerns of partisanship
The board wants to know from staff which qualities they want in the newest superintendent and how they would like them to engage the community. Barnes said that while this town hall is for staff, there will be upcoming community engagement sessions on what they want to see in the next district leader.
Some in the community, like Sonya Bennetone-Patrick, said they are weary of the board's current displays of GOP partisanship. Some staff also voiced this concern in the May 2024 board survey.
Bennetone-Patrick read parts of the NHCGOP’s release shortly after Foust's firing. In the letter, county Republican leaders urged the four Republican members who control the board to pick the next superintendent who aligns with the party.
Nevin Carr, the party’s chair, wrote on July 3 that getting rid of Foust is a “pivotal moment in changing the culture and priorities of how our kids will be educated,” adding the district has “flags representing radical gender ideologies replacing the American flag. We see kids being taught to be racist, that your skin color defines you as an oppressor, or oppressed. We see the teaching of history and love of country being replaced with hateful leftist propaganda.”
Bennetone-Patrick pushed back on these claims — and added that she didn’t “know [the superintendent] was a partisan position.”
Moms for Liberty
Jan Boswell, the leader of the NHC chapter of Moms for Liberty, also spoke. She said she wanted to give board member Bradford the month’s “joyful warrior” award. GOP school board candidate and Moms for Liberty legislation chair Natosha Tew also spoke at the meeting, drawing attention to Moms for Liberty’s injunction against Title IX regulations prohibiting discrimination.
Tew said the board and district’s schools needed to decide to be on “the right side of history” and urged parents to sign up their schools to participate in MFL’s injunction.
The Moms for Liberty group has been named “extremist” by the Southern Poverty Law Center, although that's not an official legal designation, and the SPLC's categorization of extreme and hate groups has been challenged (as detailed in this piece from the Washington Post).
