RBHS will have new cellphone policy to restrict use in classrooms

July has been a long month for Riverside-Brookfield High School Principal Dr. Hector Freytas.

The school has hosted summer residency days July 8 and July 15, with another coming up Wednesday and the last a week later on July 29. Every family and their students must attend.

They’ll see the familiar face of Freytas at the main entrance, along with a board with dozens of pouches – for student cellphones.

The key message: During classes, phones must be in a pocket. It’s the pre-emptive move by District 208 ahead of the state’s mandate for the 2027-28 school year.

And they have been long days for Freytas. He’s stood up front from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 8 and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 15. He’ll do that same 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. shift Wednesday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. July 29. Long days if you’re wearing dress shoes.

But he’s not glum about it. Quite the contrary, though he has heard a few groans – from students, not their parents.  

“We’re doing it together in residency, they are putting them in their cellphone pockets,” he said. “I believe that I am setting my students up for success and mitigating issues. I care about my teachers and want them to focus on instruction.”

In past years, he said, the school used a “stoplight” system for cellphone usage in class. Teachers had the autonomy to decide when students could use their phones. For example, on a green day, students could use their phones. On a yellow day, students might only be able to use their phones at the beginning or end of class. Obviously, a red day meant no usage at all.

“It created some inconsistency from classroom to classroom,” Freytas said.

The intention of the new state mandate is to make sure every student is on the same page everywhere.

“On the one hand, phones can be a tool for learning, and on the other hand it can be a distraction,” he said. “We need students focused on learning and off their phones during instructional time. It’s tempting to send a message and use their phones during class time.

“We want to remove the distraction.”

Of course, there are always those who want to buck the system, so there are non-compliance rules in place. For example, for a first offense students who don’t comply will receive a verbal redirection; defiance will result in an administrative conference. In an extreme situation, a fourth offense, a student’s cellphone will be collected upon main office entry for the remainder of the quarter.

But Freytas doesn’t expect a lot of problems, especially if everyone knows the rules.

“At RB, we care about them and love them and have their back,” he said. “I believe they will meet the new cellphone procedure expectations. My students are very important to me; this procedure is very important to me and important to the community.”

Substitute teacher pay rate may increase

At the July 14 Board of Education meeting, the board decided to defer to Aug. 11 a vote on increasing substitute teacher pay to $25 per hour, up $3 from the current pay rate that has been in place since the 2022-23 school year. 

“Increasing the rate of pay for external substitutes assists the district in attracting qualified substitutes,” said Assistant Superintendent Dr. Kristin Smetana. “In turn, the district can foster a positive and productive learning environment for students by ensuring continuity of instruction and effective classroom management during teacher absences.”

Smetana said that historically such a pay rate increase had not gotten board approval. 

“However, it makes sense to move it since it is a financial decision tied to payroll,” she said. She noted at the meeting that the pay rate increase would add about $30,000 to district operational expenses. 

Internal substitutes, such as teachers or administrators that pinch-hit in a classroom for a few hours or a day receive a pay rate of $40 per hour, she said.