I'm personally affected by the use of Yondr pouches in our school district. I find it frustrating and disturbing to have to navigate through crowds to get the pouch unlocked every single time. This issue is not unique to me; numerous students share this hassle on a daily basis.

From my experience, I’ve seen kids try to break open the pouches unsolicited, or even break them entirely. The district is just wasting good money that could actually fund useful things, like the lunch items.

Since the introduction of Yondr pouches, intended to keep students more focused on their education by locking away their smartphones, many have found it causing more disruption than benefit. The process of unlocking these pouches creates unnecessary chaos and potentially delays in class schedules. It's crucial, in an educational environment, that procedures don't obstruct the flow of learning, and unfortunately, the implementation of Yondr pouches does exactly that.

Moreover, the administration's decision to use these pouches seemingly overlooks the potential of smartphones for learning. According to a study by Pearson Education, 74% of students agreed that they use their phones for academic purposes, such as easy studying and research purposes (Pearson, 2015). While it's important to regulate screen time, it's also critical to accommodate the potential that our new digital world possesses.

Our call here is not to completely avoid managing phone-use in schools, rather, we urge Seattle Public Schools to implement an effective, less disruptive policy that will optimize student engagement and induce the best learning outcome, while addressing the role of smartphones in students' lives today. Pouches can be enforced to children who aren’t following the no-phones rule. Please sign this petition, helping to work toward a more constructive solution for our school district.