BOSTON — The Boston Public Schools system is turning to new technology in the hopes of keeping students focused.
When students arrive for the day at Mary Lyon High School in Brighton, the first thing they do is grab a pouch. They look like pocket protectors, but they're for student cellphones and use the same technology as those security sensors on clothes at the mall.
Headmaster Herve Anoh showed Boston 25 News anchor Heather Hegedus how it works.
"The pouch is given to them and gets unlocked. The cellphone gets put in the pouch, locks it, you make sure it is truly locked, and the student has the pouch to put in their pocket," said Anoh.
That's where the phone stays until the end of the school day when administrators unlock the pouches and students can use their phones again.
The company that makes the pouches is called "Yondr" and the pouches go for roughly $20 a piece.
It has been particularly challenging for some of the students to resist being glued to their phones because Mary Lyon is an inclusive school for students with emotional, behavioral and social disorders, like autism. Social skills don't always come easy and without a phone to escape to, they're now forced to socialize and participate.
"I've seen a huge difference just in the first week of school. I would walk into classrooms and the students were actually talking to each other. They were engaging with one another about whatever the content was - they were engaging with the teachers," said Mary Lyon High School Chief Academic Officer Ashley Jacobson.
The pouches started on a trial, voluntary basis last spring, but this September it became mandatory for the entire school. While it was a hard adjustment at first, students say they're actually starting to appreciate it.
"You learn a lot more about people when you're not just on your phone and I think it's really nice to just function as a human being," said student Delany Meehan.
Mary Lyon is one of only four schools in the Boston Public Schools to use the technology right now. They're hoping they can be a model for other schools.