Successes and Celebrations of the first year of MI Phone-Free Schools

MIHS senior Victoria Rodriguez unlocks her Yondr pouch upon leaving school on June 11, 2025.

Mercer Island, WA, June 13, 2025 – The success of MI Phone-Free Schools can be seen in numerous ways in Islander Middle School and Mercer Island High School.

From the distractions eliminated in teaching and learning environments to the data in our annual Education Effectiveness Survey (EES) to the visible positive student interactions in both schools, the new program is an unqualified success.

The Mercer Island School District launched MI Phone-Free Schools at the start of the 2024-25 school year at IMS and MIHS.

The District launched this program to foster the learning environments we desire and promote healthy social and emotional development for our students. At the time of implementation, we also believed social media and ubiquitous access to personal technology devices created a significant barrier in our schools and MI Phone-Free Schools removes this barrier.

After reviewing data from the EES and hearing from our teachers and administrators, MI Phone-Free School has had an extremely positive impact at IMS and MIHS and will remain in place for the 2025-26 school year.

“Our MIHS Phone Free approach has been a revelation this school year. We had no idea how impactful this could be but limiting distractions for students to stay engaged in their learning and to build healthier relationships with students and staff truly could not have gone any better. Yes, there have been some hiccups along the way but the overall approach to student engagement and a distraction free learning environment has been transformative.” – Nick Wold, MIHS Principal

MIHS and IMS teachers were asked to rate three statements in the EES about cell phones as Almost Always True, Often True, Sometimes True, Seldom True, and Almost Never True.

When asked if their ability to teach students has improved by limiting cell phone use, 83% of teachers said this was always true and 12% said it was often true.

Eighty-three percent of teachers say it is always true that student engagement in the classroom has improved by limiting cell phone use, while 11% of teachers say this is often true.

Student social-emotional wellbeing has also improved at MIHS and IMS by limiting access to cell phones, with 76% of teachers reporting this is always true and 19% indicating it is often true.

“Becoming a phone-free school at IMS has had a transformative impact on student engagement. With cell phones removed from the learning environment, we have seen a clear shift, students are more present, more participatory, and more focused on their learning. Rather than withdrawing or disengaging, students are learning into classroom activities and conversations. This change has been both powerful and positive, and we are excited to continue as a phone-free school in the coming year.” – MaryJo Budzius, IMS Co-Principal

In the EES there were also three statements on cell phone use for families to provide their feedback on cell phones in classrooms.

Sixty-four percent of families said it is almost always true and 17% of families said it is often true that their student’s academic performance has improved by limiting cell phones during the school day.

The high school and middle school experience for students has improved with 63% of parents reporting their child is having an overall better experience in school. In the often-true category 17% of parents indicate their student’s experience is better.

Families, like teachers, are also seeing an improvement in students’ social and emotional wellbeing with 60% of families observing the improvement as always true and 17% viewing the improvement statement as often true.

“MI Phone-Free Schools unified our schools and community around three beliefs: engagement and learning are essential in our schools, the social and mental well-being of students is a priority, and a phone free learning environment is good for our learners. Our halls, classrooms, and cafeterias were more vibrant than they have been in many years. Our students are not as fond of the change as the adults, but as one teacher said to me earlier this spring, ‘Phone free learning has been a game changer for my ability to teach and the students' engagement in learning.’” – Dr. Fred Rundle, MISD Superintendent

This year, as part of the MI-Phone Free initiative, we introduced a year-round parent education program of webinars and roundtables in collaboration with Scroll By Choice. Recordings of the webinars are available here for anyone who missed any sessions.

Looking ahead to the summer months, Scroll By Choice and MISD are pleased to provide additional, helpful resources for families looking to develop and maintain a positive balance with technology.

Movement and Outdoor Activity Family Guide: A guide from California Partners Project offering bite-sized, family-tested ideas to help kids and caregivers reclaim outdoor play and active habits.

Family Digital Wellness Guide: A research-based guide from Boston Children’s Hospital for helping kids build healthy and safe digital habits.

Research report: Pressure, Burnout and Social Media: Insights from Harvard’s Graduate School of Education and Common Sense Media about the pressures teens face, as well as what impacts those pressures, including the role of the people and the technology in their lives.

Please email learnmore@scrollbychoice.com with questions related to these programs.

We take our partnership with parents and guardians to support our students. very seriously. Without access to their personal devices throughout the day, our students are seeing marked improvement. We are looking forward to seeing our students thrive in the 2025-26 school year with the help of MI Phone-Free Schools.