Phone-Free Schools with Safety and Connectivity
“Regulate Phone Use in Schools and Homes to Promote Healthy, Lifelong Learners”
See How Safe Pouch Excited 100’s Teachers, TOSA, Admins, and Directors at Conferences
Proactively Prevent and Reduce
✅Cyberbullying & AI Misuse
✅ Bullying & Fights
✅ Classroom Disruptions
✅ Tardy & Chronic Absences
✅ Many Other Issues
Our Stories and Mission
As a chemistry teacher since 2011, I’ve witnessed the negative effects of cell phone misuse, now intensified by AI, on school safety, student intellect, and teacher morale. Programs like PBIS and Restorative Practices, though well-intentioned, lack the tools to identify and correct students’ behaviors early and effectively. Following a tragic bullying incident, I invented the Multi-Tiered Safe Pouch to help schools create a phone-free, equitable, and safer environment. Most importantly, it empowers all staff with the tool to identify and support at-risk students and mediate possible student conflicts early to prevent possible tragedy.
I invented the Multi-Tiered Safe Pouch so that the impacts of the Positive Behavioral Intervention System and Restorative Practices can be achieved.
Conference Demo
ONE-TIME PURCHASE | $12-$15 per Pouch | No Annual Fees | 60-Day Free Unlimited Repair
As Low as $1.25 per Pouch
(Estimated Less Than 3 Cents per Student Per Day when the pouch lasts more than Two Years)
As Low as $1.25 per Pouch
Why It’s Challenging to Create Phone-Free Schools?
Inconsistent Enforcement:
"Most schools already have rules regulating student phone use, but they are enforced sporadically" (AP). This indicates a lack of a uniform approach across classrooms and schools, making it difficult to maintain a consistent policy.
Teacher Burden
One teacher mentioned, "Cellphone use is out of control. By that, I mean that I cannot control it, even in my own classroom" (AP). This underscores the burden placed on teachers to enforce phone policies, detracting from their primary role of educating.
Varied Policies
"A study last year from Common Sense Media found that 97% of kids use their phones during school hours, and that kids say school cellphone policies vary — often from one classroom to another — and aren’t always enforced" (AP). The lack of a standardized policy across schools and even within the same school complicates efforts to create a phone-free environment.
Student Resistance:
"Some students say such policies take away their autonomy and cut off their main mode of communication with family and friends" (AP). This resistance from students can make it challenging to implement strict phone bans.
Parental Concerns:
"Pushback also has come from parents who fear being cut off from their kids if there is a school emergency" (AP). Parents' concerns about being unable to reach their children, especially in emergencies, pose a significant obstacle to phone-free policies.
News! Earbuds and Smartwatches
The article mentions the next battle against earbuds and smartwatches, indicating that as one form of technology is regulated, another emerges, complicating enforcement efforts.
News Sources and Credits: [Thestar.com] [DailyjTimes] [caledonianrecord.com] [https://www.kktv.com/]
Pricing
$12- $15 per Pouch | No Annual Fees | Free 60-Day Unlimited Repair Services
(Estimated Less Than 3 Cents per Student Per Day when the pouch lasts more than Two Years)
Recommended 2-Years Extended Maintainance Fees of $3 per Pouch.
Piloting in Individual Classrooms
Organization and Maintenance: Number pouches with the classroom number and pouch number (E.g., J12-2 – J12-36). Each student is assigned to a numbered pouch on the roster. Separate the pouches into SIX bins (1-6, 7-12,13-18,19-24,25-30,31-36)
Essential Pouch Point Daily Rewards:
- Students also earn “Pouch Points.” If a pouch is broken and there are no replacements, use a clip to lock it. Students avoid taking items out to prevent losing 5 Pouch Points. Meanwhile, request replacements and repairs.
- At the end of class, the teacher, not a volunteer, unlocks all pouches, and any student who has a broken pouch will lose their 5 Pouch Points because they have attempted to break the pouches. (Use your best judgment and document students’ behaviors).
- Students use the points to purchase Late Pass, Homework Pass, Re-take Assessments, or treats. Any unused points are counted as extra credits at the end.
ARRIVAL: Students enter the classroom, pick up their assigned pouches, and ask a volunteer or the teacher to lock up their devices before going to their seats
DISMISSAL: At the end of a period, teachers unlock the pouch, and report any students who have damaged the pouches.
Ms. Silvestrini’s Piloted in Her High School Math Class
“My principal was very supportive of the no phone policy in my classroom and he purchased a class set for my classroom. Since I have implemented the pouches, I have seen a difference in my students’ grades. They are more focused and they are actually paying attention in class. My students know that once they get 80% or better or their assignment, then I will unlock their phones. It gives them a reason to work hard for their phones. Their grades have improved tremendously. I wish that I would have had these phone pouches a long time ago.”
Ms. Silvestrini (HS Math Teacher, 2024)
Most Positive Schoolwide Implementation for Any Middle and High School
“A Collective Effort Solution from All Staff“
Option 1: All Pouches Stay in the School
Organization and Maintainance: Number and store Blue Safe in 27-gallon containers (from Costco)
Daily Arrival Task: Students pick up a pouch, SILENCE their phones, and show it to a campus supervisor or volunteer student before locking it up with their smartwatches.
Reduce Cost and Increase Parent Involvement: Schools encourage parents to purchase a Blue Safe Pouch so that students can use their own pouches daily. Also, schools may encourage parents to buy a Magnet to use at home to foster healthy and phone-free times instead of paying for other expensive apps monthly. ( Students will not bring the bulky magnet since their parents are using it daily, and students are afraid of the magnet getting confiscated by the school forever, in accordance with your school policy. Lastly, all staff have the Orange Safe Pouch to lock up any students’ devices.)
Challenges and Solutions:
Safety and Accommodation: Every teacher has a magnet to quickly unlock a student’s Blue Safe Pouch during an emergency, medical need, or other accommodations.
“I don’t have a phone“: Students either have a parent’s written note or go through a non-contact check of their backpacks and pockets. They lock up their earbuds, toys, or other items.
“I refuse to pouch up my phones or go through a non-contact security check.” The parent can sign an agreement that their child will not bring a phone and smartwatch to school. If the student is caught having them out in school, the parent must pick them up after school, and the student loses the privilege. Students will get a pouch to lock up other items.
Students bring a magnet school: Make it part of your school policy that any magnet brought to schools will be confiscated for the rest of the school year, or FOREVER if possible because it’s a hazardous weapon.
Transform school PBIS, MTSS, and Discipline: HAVING A TIER 2 ORANGE SAFE POUCH in all classrooms and on every campus supervisor significantly and proactively reduces and prevents discipline problems schoolwide by having a proactive and immediate positive consequence for tackling phone possession, tardiness, school fights, defiance, chronic absences, cheating, and many other problems.
Daily Dismissal: Teachers unlock students’ Blue Pouches and return them to designated collecting containers in their buildings. Teachers turn in any damaged pouch and report (refer) any student who lost, damaged, or vandalized their pouches to charge students for repair or replacement. The campus supervisors drive around with empty containers to collect the pouches from their designated collection areas after most students have left the school campus.
Option 2: Check Out the Blue Pouches to Students
Organization and Maintainance: Number and check out Blue Safe Pouches for students to take care of and bring to school daily, like a Chromebook.
Daily Arrival Task: Students SILENCE their phones and show them to a campus supervisor or volunteer student before locking them up with their smartwatches in their pouches. ( A larger school requires a few more student volunteers and staff–Adjunct Duties & Community Service Hours)
Reduce Cost and Increase Parent Involvement: Schools encourage parents to purchase a Blue Safe Pouch so that students can use their own pouches daily. Also, schools may encourage parents to buy a Magnet to use at home to foster healthy and phone-free times instead of paying for other expensive apps monthly. ( Students will not bring the bulky magnet since their parents are using it daily, and students are afraid of the magnet getting confiscated by the school forever, in accordance with your school policy. Lastly, all staff have the Orange Safe Pouch to lock up any students’ devices.)
Challenges and Solutions:
Safety and Accommodation: Every teacher has a magnet to quickly unlock a student’s Blue Safe Pouch during an emergency, medical need, or other accommodations.
“I forgot/lost/broke my pouch.” Students either put their phones in the Front Office or borrow an Orange Safe Pouch.
“I don’t have a phone“: Students either have a parent’s written note or go through a non-contact check of their backpacks and pockets. They lock up their earbuds, toys, or other items.
“I refuse to pouch up my phones or go through a non-contact security check.” The parent can sign an agreement that their child will not bring a phone and smartwatch to school. If the student is caught having them out in school, the parent must pick them up after school, and the student loses the privilege. Students will get a pouch to lock up other items.
Students bring a magnet school: Make it part of your school policy that any magnet brought to schools will be confiscated for the rest of the school year, or FOREVER if possible because it’s a hazardous weapon.
Students Check Out the Pouch to Use for Many Years.
Transform Elementary Schools’ Culture and PBIS
It’s not just the phones–Build healthy habits and teach accountability early to foster lifelong learners.
Organization and Maintainance: Number and give a class set of Blue Safe Pouch to your teachers, based on how many they need because not all students have a phone. Your teachers label and assign a pouch to each student to use daily.
Reduce Cost and Increase Parent Involvement: Schools encourage parents to purchase a Blue Safe Pouch so that students can use their own pouches daily. Also, schools may encourage parents to buy a Magnet to use at home to foster healthy and phone-free times instead of paying for other expensive apps monthly. ( Students will not bring the bulky magnet since their parents are using it daily, and students are afraid of the magnet getting confiscated by the school forever, in accordance with your school policy. Lastly, all staff have the Orange Safe Pouch to lock up any students’ devices.)
Daily Arrival Task: Teachers pouch up their student’s phones and/or other distracting items or devices, and students keep them in their backpacks until the teacher unlocks them after school.
Challenges and Solutions:
Safety and Accommodation: Every teacher has a magnet to quickly unlock a student’s Blue Safe Pouch during an emergency, medical need, or other accommodations.
TIER 2 ORANGE SAFE POUCH in all classrooms to proactively reduce and prevent discipline problems schoolwide by having immediate positive consequences of tackling phone possession, defiance, school fights, cheating, and many other problems.
WE PROVIDE 60-Day FREE REPAIR SERVICES TO HELP YOUR MAKE THE TRANSITION.