Good Morning, supporters!

I would like to take the time in this update to share some thoughts, feelings,  that I and the community have. These are personal opinions, not facts or official statements.

Violation Of Privacy

We will begin with some thoughts I've had and some things I learned. For starters, I am not the only person who feels their privacy is violated by the act of using School Managed Devices (that are monitored by school officials) to contact home. Advancements in technology have allowed us to have a way to keep things private through cell phones, which is stripped from us with Yondr.

Yondr makes it impossible for students with those responsibilities to ensure the safety of their loved ones or anyone who isn't inside the school. This creates more worry than it solves, and raises the anxiety in students, which may cause them to lose focus in class while thinking about something equally as important to their classwork.

Another sophomore at Branford High has a second plan for a fairer, safer, and privacy-focused phone policy. This plan reinstates using phones at lunch and study hall, while keeping people off phones in Instructional Classes. 

"We should be able to use our phones at lunch and in study halls. We also all should have velcro Yondr pouches and put them in the front of the class. But when kids get caught using their phones, they get switched to Yondr pouches with the magnetic pin, and if the kids continue to use their phones, they should be required to turn in to the house principal." - Destin.M

An announcement was made during the morning of September 25th, where house principals stated the new plan is “going well”, but not many students agree with this. So far, it seems the school is ignoring the feelings of the students. They have not commented on how the student body feels. To reiterate, the 2025-26 plan bans the use of ALL Personal Electronic Devices. This includes:

-Personal Laptops

-Smartwatches

-iPads-

-Fitness Trackers

-Earbuds

And of course, Cell Phones.

I have some other personal thoughts that I believe can speak for others. In middle school, I was excited to come to high school, I was excited to have freedom and not be treated like a child, to have my own discretion, and it went well freshman year, freshman year felt like High School, now, with all the new policies, it just feels like the trust and the feeling of the little bit of extra freedom high school is meant to give is taken from the student body.

I hope this update finds you well and that you continue to support the petition and its message.

-Matt Kazzi