OPINION: Are new school policies a good deal, a raw deal or no big deal?

West Essex’s new cell phone has little beneficial value and only puts more stress upon students. On paper, it sounds great from an administrative perspective: help students get the most of everything they are learning. However, in practice, the phone policy is ineffective, harmful to students' learning and causes lack of communication between kids and parents. From a safety standpoint, students said they...

Between cracking down on absences, mandating IDs and regulating how students access their cell phones, West Essex is battling something… but what is it? Prior to the school year, the school administration sent email an informing families about new policies that would be enforced right at the start of the year. They've proven quite contentious in a few ways, and many students had a lot of criticism...

Each school district in America has to make its own decisions regarding what's best for its students, and West Essex's set of new school policies on absences, safety and cell phone use all have the stated end goal of improving students' learning. But not all of those policies end up fulfilling their intended purposes. The school's new cell phone policy -- specifically, the use of "phone jail" pockets...

Every morning before I leave for school, I go through my mental checklist. Chromebook? Check. Car Keys? Check. Binders and books? Check. The second I get settled into my car, relaxing before the next stressful six hours of my day, it suddenly hits me. My school ID? Not checked. Panic strikes for a moment as I start to rummage through my bag throwing my belongings all over the backseat of my car. I...

The new regulations in the school have left many students upset, especially the new rules regarding the “phone jails." Some may say it doesn’t affect them too much, and phones shouldn’t be used in class in the first place. But honestly, I think that taking away phones and forbidding usage in the classroom is taking it too far, and ultimately creates more problems than it attempts to fix. ...