Hamburg High School has made some changes for the current school year in hopes of bringing academics and participation rates up. Although the rule is unpopular with some students, Dr. Beissel believes that eventually, they will see the benefits as well. 

     The idea of this new policy began around the third quarter of last year after observing numerous phone-related disruptions in the school environment. Mrs. Fink, vice principal, began conversations with Dr. Gravish after she noticed that most of the problems students were having originated from social media and their cell phones. Overall the administration decided that the policy change restricting inappropriate phone use would help to put some boundaries into place. 

     Dr. Beissel says, “ I believe it should be all about balance and boundaries.” He believes that it would be unfair to ban the phones entirely and that it would not be enforceable with 700 hundred students. Dr. Beissel is doing his best to allow the cell phone rules to be fair to the students but also fair to the teachers who support the phone policy change due to increased engagement in their classes. The students need to be appropriate with their phones during school hours, and since they are personal devices it makes it challenging for school officials to supervise their use by students 24/7. Dr. Beissel is hoping that after this rule the grades will increase and that students will have more interaction with their classmates during class. Dr. Beissel is hoping that eventually, the students will meet a middle ground and the rules will not have to be as strict. However, as the rule was being developed the teachers mainly supported it because of the numerous phone-related disruptions they had witnessed in the school environment. If students can do their tasks and respect their teachers then the cell phone rule could become less strict.