“October 14 is coming soon!” Referring to the day after fall break, this persistent reminder helped to prepare the 12YO-Secondary students at QSI International School of Montenegro (QSIM) for the day our school became phone-free.

Prior to going phone free, students were able to use their mobile phones during breaks and in class if it was part of a lesson. As of October 14, phones are left at home or powered down and left in the student’s locker for the entire school day. Students still have access to classroom technology through their laptops and/or tablets, and educational technology remains a vital part of the education process.

A year of study and research resulted in a list of pro and con arguments for phones in classrooms. Access to Quizlet, Kahoot, calculators, periodic tables, and other resources made phones beneficial in a classroom. At the same time, teachers saw distracted students, there were cases of cyberbullying, and students who did not carry phones were excluded from some activities.

What tipped the balance for QSIM was the developing evidence suggesting that social media use has a negative effect on the cognitive development of adolescents.

QSIM held a series of discussion events for students, teachers, and parents regarding the upcoming change. The data showed unanimous support from parents, near-unanimous support from teachers, and full or grudging acceptance from students.

Adolescents can be creative and persistent. Social media sites are blocked on the firewall and Wi-Fi, but there are ways around for those persistent enough. Even so, without phones in their hands, students are accessing social media much less at school than before.

As we get further into this phone-free experience, we hear hallways getting louder from students talking and joking with each other. We see the football pitch, basketball court, and playground getting a lot more use. We experience fewer issues with bullying of all types. Not enough time has passed to determine if students are less distracted or get better test scores, though we expect both to occur.

The phone-free change gave school leaders anxiety as the day approached. The purposeful dialog with different constituent groups that went into the process helped parents, teachers, and students to process the rationale for the change. It also gave healthy space to share feedback in an open environment. We are thankful for the whole QSIM community for participating in this process.