Cellphone ban, high class sizes among new challenges for Calgary students

August 29, 2024 Canuck

Thousands of Calgary students are headed back to school on Thursday for the first day of lessons, which could look a little different this year.

It’s the first time students will be taught from a new curriculum that was released by the Alberta government last April.

Officials say 429 schools have signed up to pilot the new program, which aims to boost student engagement and make them into “active citizens.”

Another new concept this year is a ban on cellphones in classrooms.

Several school boards, including the Calgary Board of Education (CBE) and Rocky View Schools (RVS), have released documents laying out the rules for when students are allowed to use mobile devices and penalties for what happens when they break them.

While the CBE says it will stick to its regular disciplinary action plan with students, RVS published its own document on Wednesday.

In it, RVS says its students are expected to keep their personal mobile devices turned off or silent and stored during class time except when it is allowed by teachers.

Any students who break the rules will first receive a verbal warning and reminded about the rules, but on the second incidence, they will have their device confiscated by the teacher to be returned at the end of the class and their parents will be informed.

On the third, RVS says the student must turn in their device to the office to be retrieved at the end of the day and the student’s parents will be notified about the “repeated infractions.”

A fourth incident will garner a one-week period where the child will not be able to bring their mobile device to school or will be instructed to bring it into the office at the beginning of the day and retrieve it by the end of the day.

“Further incident(s) may result in other actions as determined by the administration in consultation with parent/guardian in line with Administrative Procedure 350 – Student Code of Conduct,” RVS said in its documentation.

School boards have until Jan. 1, 2025 to finalize their rules regarding the province’s cellphone ban, but the prohibition is in effect from the first day of classes this year.

The Alberta Teachers’ Association (ATA) agrees that cellphones are a distraction and impacts student mental health, but its greater concern is a lack of funding for education.

“It’s an issue that we’re going to see worsen than what we had last year as we saw class sizes grow especially in urban areas, like Calgary, but it’s effecting all school across this province in terms of the class sizes,” said ATA president Jason Schilling.

“The needs and composition of our classrooms have changed dramatically as well and there’s a lack of resources and funding to meet our students needs and that’s causing a lot of concerns.”

(With files from Mason DePatie)

View original article here Source