Norman North Parents and Students,

Establishing a safe and healthy social and learning environment for all students is our top priority. We are taking the opportunity to reemphasize expectations and practices for cell phone use on our high school campuses across NPS. Cell phones should be silenced and away during class periods and appropriate use is an expectation at all times.

Below are a few questions you might have:

When will this start? Administrators and teachers are in the process of discussing the changes and helping students understand the purpose of the silent and put away expectation. When we return after Spring Break (March 23rd), silenced and away will be the expectation for students.

Why are we doing this? We have continued to see the distracting effect of cell phones during instructional/class time for many of our students. We want our students to be safe and focused on their learning and students who are trying to multitask or who are on phones can have decreased learning outcomes.

Why are we doing this now? We want to be in good shape at the start of next year and we really want to use this time to learn, adjust, and get a sense of additional steps we need to take to make this really work in support of students. Just like great teachers do in the classroom, we teach our lesson, reflect, adjust, assess, and improve. It is always the right time to do the right thing. And you know, this will be one less thing we have to tackle in August so we will be able to hit the ground running even faster for our best year yet with students so we can continue to focus on learning and student success.

How do I contact my student during the day? We know that this will take adjustment for some families. Students are welcome to check their phones during passing periods and lunch time. If an emergency situation arises, please contact the main office and we will assist with communication to our student.

What is the goal for this change at the high school level? Our goal is to protect instructional time to allow students to fully engage in learning. We are NOT banning cell phones on the campus, however during class time students are expected to have their phones silenced and away.

As we continue to establish a climate that is most conducive to deep student learning, consistent engagement, and healthy use of cell phones on our campus, we are grateful for your continued support.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly with any questions that you might have.

Kristi Gray

Norman North Principal