OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Westside High School junior Olive Mayrose admits she’s on her phone a lot.
“I'm always on Snapchat, texting my parents,” she said. “Texting my friends and on Instagram.”
She also knows when to put it away, she added that her phone usually stays out of sight when she’s in class.
“Not having it by makes me study better and pay attention more in class and listen to what my teacher says,” she said.
Restraint from phones is something that can be tough for other kids her age.
“Some kids just don’t want to keep their phones out of their faces, and they like to stay on them,” she said.
At Omaha Public Schools, rules about when to use phones are set by administrators and teachers — at most schools — cell phones are allowed as long as they don’t disrupt class.
The same is true at Ralston Public Schools, as long as they’re used safely and responsibly.
In Lincoln’s Public Middle and High Schools starting this year cell phones must be turned off and put away during instruction.
“We’re a really large district,” said Jessie Fries, director of secondary education for Lincoln Public Schools. “We thought it would be helpful if our students had really clear expectations about what they could expect when they walk into any classroom in our district.”
The new rule was put in place following the success of smaller, student-led cell phone bans at two high schools in the district.
Kids discovered without their phones, they could focus better on what’s going on around them in the classroom. It's a practice Olive already knew all about.
“You can get homework done faster,” she said. “You don’t have to stress about it at like 11:00 at night or 9:00 the next day.”
Some OPS schools have stricter guidelines for cell phones for example, at North High School, students can’t use cell phones unless a teacher specifically says otherwise.
