• Dear Andrew J. Rickoff Parents, Guardians and Supporters,

    We’re making our schools a phone-free space to improve teaching and learning experiences using a system called Yondr. Yondr has been implemented in over 1,000 schools across 21 countries to facilitate an engaged learning environment. 

    This change aligns with CMSD’s board policy that states that “To maintain a secure and orderly learning environment, students who choose to bring a personal cellphone or electronic device to school will have their phone/device subject to collection and/or storage during the student school day.”  This policy follows Ohio House Bill 250, which requires the minimization of cell phone use in schools.

    The Yondr Program utilizes a simple, secure pouch that stores a phone. Every scholar will and secure their phone, earphones, and smartwatches in a personally assigned Yondr pouch when they arrive at school. Scholars will maintain possession of their phones and will not use them until their pouches are opened at the end of the school day. They are required to obtain their Yondr pouch each day at arrival and are responsible for their pouch at all times.

    We believe that phones have great utility. We have also found that learning and social behavior improve drastically when students are fully engaged with their teachers and classmates. Yondr recently surveyed over 900 school partners to measure the effects of creating phone-free educational environments. These schools achieved notable progress in multiple areas:

    •    65% of schools saw an improvement in academic performance
    •    74% of schools saw an improvement in student behavior
    •    83% of schools saw an improvement in student engagement in the classroom

    If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the school directly at 216-838-4150 or attend one of our upcoming meetings about the adoption of Yondr that will occur on our back-to-school Meet & Greet night on August 15 from 3:00 pm -5:00 pm. In addition, we invite you to take a look at the attached FAQ document and graphic on how Yondr works. 

    If there is an emergency, and you would like to get in contact with your child, please reach out to the main office at 216-838-4150. To best serve your child, we appreciate your full support in the adoption of the Yondr Program at our school.

    Thank you,

    Nilsa Walker
    Principal