School Committee split over recipients of cellphone survey
Committee members must hammer out some details — including whose opinions to seek out.
The regional School Committee plans to send out a survey to gather input on cellphone regulations at Acton-Carlisle High School.
First, committee members must hammer out some details — including whose opinions to seek out.
“The people who are going to have the direct impact of this policy are the ones that need to weigh in,” School Committee member Brian Waterson said at the April 1 School Committee meeting.
He wasn’t alone: Committee Chair Tracey Marano, Andrew Herchek, and Carrie Rankin all voiced support for limiting the survey to students, parents, and educators.
Members Michael Williams and Sandeep Pisharody felt otherwise.
“I would argue for this being sent more widely than just the school community,” Pisharody said.
Williams suggested a more expansive distribution of the survey could help address “misinformation” and capture a fuller range of perspectives.
The discussion also touched on whether to include younger students, with Herchek noting middle schoolers may be too young to provide “meaningful data points.” Others supported the inclusion of families across grades.
The survey itself is part of ongoing work that started last school year, when the committee began exploring stricter cellphone rules during class time.
The School Committee passed a cellphone policy for K-8 students but held off on a high school policy.
The committee has identified completing a CCHS policy as one of several priorities this year.
A revised draft survey presented at the April 1 School Committee meeting incorporates already-gathered feedback about the design of the questionnaire from both students and committee members.
The committee will continue refining the survey with the goal of launching it in the latter half of April or in May. Marano said the topic may be incorporated into an upcoming K-8 School Committee meeting to speed up the process.
