ELIZABETHTOWN — Cell phones are fast becoming a primary means of communication for teens everywhere. As a result, cell phone use during the school day is fast becoming an issue at many schools across the state and nation. One area school, the Fayetteville Christian Academy, has even gone so far as to instate a policy that allows for the confiscation of cell phones from students who are caught using them during classroom hours.

The Bladen County Schools have a policy which states in sum, the cell phone must be turned off and kept out of sight during instructional hours, said Roland McKoy, assistant superintendent. 

“A cell phone is a level one violation,” said McKoy.

The punishments for violations of the policy are:

• First offense receives in-school suspension;

• Second offense can receive anything from in-school suspension up to five days out-of-school;

• Third offense receives 10 days out-of-school;

• A fourth offense can result in up to 10 days out-of-school.

The policy and the consequences for violating it are published each year in the fifth- through 12th-grade student handbooks, McKoy added.

“Very seldom do I see a referral come across my desk for a cell phone,” said McKoy.

John Spainhour, principal at East Bladen High School, said cell phones are creating a distraction from learning in his school. 

“If they are seen we take them,” said Spainhour. “Our policy is the first time we take the cell phone and keep it for a day and have a parent or guardian come pick it up. The second time, we keep the phone locked-up for five days and the third time we keep it locked up for 10 days.”

According to Spainhour, students are being found to be texting regularly while in classrooms. Some students have been caught using their cell phones in the school restrooms, he added.

Antonia Beatty, principal of West Bladen High School, referred all questions regarding the matter to the central office. Her only comment was the school does enforce the county’s policy regarding cell phone use by students.

Bladenboro Middle School Principal Wilbert Stokes also sees cell phones as a “major problem right now.”

“We do have children sending text messages during classroom hours,” said Stokes. “It takes away from their focus during class time.”

Many students have become so adept at texting, they can place a phone in their jacket pocket and still send text messages, according to Stokes.

“If it is turned on or in plain view then we confiscate it and call the parent or guardian to come and pick up the phone,” said Stokes. “We try to get the parents to help us.”

Elizabethtown Middle School Assistant Principal Ray Crabtree said, “It’s not a problem of epic proportion, but we do have some problems with them. We are not having to go to extreme measures.”

Like Spainhour, Crabtree said many students are caught in the restrooms using cell phones.

“We are not to the point yet that we are having to confiscate them,” said Crabtree.

According to The Fayetteville Observer, students at Fayetteville Christian Academy were caught twice last year texting test answers. Those two incidences led to the development of the seizure policy at that school .

“We have no specific proof of that,” said Spainhour about students at East Bladen High. 

Stokes said every precaution is made during testing to ensure that doesn’t happen at his school.

“During testing, we collect the cell phones and keep them so the students don’t get accused of using the phone to help them out on a test,” said Stokes.

Stokes added, “We live in a technological world now and if we could motivate the students to use the phones in a positive manner it could become an instrument for learning. It has to be used in a positive manner.”