[Podgajski]

I mean, I agree that cell phones can cause interruptions in schools, but doing this at a place like Buxton compared to some of the public schools I’ve taught in, well, that’s a whole different story.

“Buxton School is a private, coeducational, college preparatory, boarding and day school for grades 9–12 located in Williamstown, Massachusetts.“

I mean, it’s one thing to take away a kid, cell phone and offer them nothing and then another thing to take away their cell phone and offer them

“When the weather is nice, the Buxton boarding school moves lunch outside. Students, faculty and guests grab their food from the kitchen, and eat together under a white tent that overlooks western Massachusetts’ Berkshire mountains.”

[schnitzelstoat]

Yeah, it seems like you'd basically always get good outcomes in a school like this.

If the students become disruptive instead of just wasting time on their phone it could have a negative impact in many schools.

[galdosdi]

Look at it the other way -- the fact that even such an elite school was having serious problems when they were allowing smartphones, shows how pernicious their influence is in education. It's like putting a TV with full access cable on every desk in the classroom. It's no wonder literacy is going down instead of up for the first time in decades.

[jt2190]

> Tuition for the 2023-2024 academic year is USD 62 000 for a boarding student and USD 33 000 for a day student. The fee covers room, board, academic study, basic materials for courses, lab fees, field trips, tickets to cultural events, athletics (including ski passes) and programs and activities held on campus.

[a_vanderbilt]

There's also having to cater to the lowest common denominator. American students are required to go to school, and the catch-all is public school. Going to a private institute is a privilege, so if they don't like the policies they can choose to not go or ignore them and get expelled. If parents or students don't like the policies of their public school, they can complain to the board and... that's it.

[axus]

Google says enrollment was 78 students nine years ago, let's guess it's around 100 now; 25 kids per grade, managing those cell phones is a tractable problem compared to a school with 1000 kids.

[Podgajski]

And they cost $300 apiece! You have teachers buying just regular school supplies out of their own pocket in public schools.

[sixthDot]

Big public schools could use jammers, but afaik those equipements are not legal.