No more playing Brawl Stars in class. No more scrolling through TikTok. No more phones at all. In the years since COVID-19, the feeling of community at Hill has notably diminished. Yet the new phone policy announced over the summer by Head of School Kathleen Devaney intends to mend that. They claim that in recent research studies, there exists a noticeable correlation between the severity of anxiety and increased cellphone use. Consequently, Hill’s cellphone policy aims to rebuild this nostalgic sense of community through encouraging more interaction between students.
The Hill School has put the idea of adding cellphone restrictions on the table for the past three years—and Hill is not the only school having this discussion. During attempts in the 2023-2024 academic year to solve several recurring issues regarding cellphone usage, the school’s administration decided that more practical steps needed to be undertaken.
Head of School Kathleen Devaney formally approved the decision to restrict cellphone use. Yet, Associate Head of School Ari Baum, along with many other faculty, students, and parents, have also voiced support for the new policy—both in formal discussion and informal communication. “I think the vibe of The Hill School has fallen off a bit,” Baum expresses. He continues to explain, but “not entirely, I think so much of it is still here, no question. I think that when you compare it with maybe 10 or 15 years ago. We have really fallen off.”
Following COVID-19, disrupting youth maturity, students have depended more on their phones. The evolution, or rather, devolution, has drastically hampered classroom focus and socialization amongst students. Whether it’s Chess.com or TikTok or Brawl Stars, Hill students seem to just cannot get off their phones.
The Hill experimented with a stringent version of the policy on May 20, 2024, causing instant backlash. From sunrise until 8 p.m., phones had to be left inside student dormitories or day student lockers. When students complained, the administration realized they had to make some adjustments.
One effect was a noticeable decline in activity in the student center. To resolve this decline, the administration amended the cellphone policy to allow phones in the student center, along with the athletic facility, and dormitories. Additionally, they ruled that phones would be permitted in backpacks, but that they must not be seen in use between the academic hours of 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. unless in designated spaces.
But the policy is not only directed at students. Faculty are also expected to follow the rule—and serve as role models in the process. Still, faculty are obliged to be ready at the helm in case of a possible emergency.
Although the new Dean of Students Coleman Weibley arrived at The Hill after the new policy was passed, he displayed support and aims to provide a smooth transition to a Hill without phones.
While Weibley reaffirms that the school will enforce the policy, he did state that the beginning days will carry leniency for students to properly adjust to the new atmosphere. Weibley says, “I think what I like about it now is, you [can] mess up once. [Sometimes] you really have to get something done. You really need to send a text message… We can hold your phone the rest of the afternoon, but you get it back.”
Weibley assures that first-time violations will not receive punishment. However, if students are “deliberately doing it over and over again, then… demerits and detentions and restrictions” will be on the table, notes Weibley.
“I think the goal of this policy—almost the same as every other policy we have, at least in the community life domain—is to enhance that feeling of genuine community, and I think that there is a strong groundswell of feeling among many community members, students and employees and parents that there has been some loss to that in the last few years,” Baum concludes.
Editors’ note: The quote from Ari Baum was sourced from an interviewed with The Hill News staff where he expressed his views on the topic of cell phone usage. This quote was not intended to convey an overall feeling of regression at the school over the last 10-15 years. Baum directly referenced cell phone usage on campus and how it adversely impacted aspects of school culture.
