Saugus High enforcing cell phone ban

SAUGUS – Saugus High School freshman Rudy Bocanegra thinks students should be able to use their cell phones during the day when they’re not in class.But school officials recently sent out an e-mail reminding students about its ban on cell phone use during school hours.”Students need parents to get them information sometimes like when to pick them up,” said Bocanegra during a recent interview at the high school. “If their phone even goes off by accident, it gets taken away. At certain times it should be allowed, like personal time. You’re not even allowed to use it at the library on your free time.”Principal Joe Diorio said parents have been texting their kids during class and students have been calling their parents to get dismissed.”What prompted it is we’ve had more parents trying to text their kids in school and getting them in trouble,” said Diorio. “We just wanted to tell them that you can’t be doing this. This is school time. If your kid needs to be reached, you’re getting them in trouble. They can come to the office the old-fashioned way.”According to the e-mail, students are not allowed to use their cell phones between the hours of 7:25 a.m. and 1:50 p.m. The e-mail also states: “the school administration monitors all social networking sites and students caught posting messages, tweeting or other communication during the school day will be held accountable.”Diorio said Facebook is blocked on the school computers, but students can still access it on their phone, which is why all cell phone use is banned.”We try to tell kids, if they’re using their phones in school, whichever way they’re using them, if they’re caught, they will be held accountable,” said Diorio. “We’re just trying to make sure that we keep a clean, healthy school.”Diorio said the policy also helps stem cyber-bullying and prevents students from posting inappropriate comments during school.”There’s also some kids that, if they post obscene messages on Facebook or something like that, we just don’t think that’s appropriate,” said Diorio. “If there’s bullying or harassment, we ask that parents bring in copies and we try to deal with it and try to cut that out.”Sophomore Glennish Barrientos said students should be able to use their phones in an emergency, and thinks the school should have no say over Facebook and Twitter.”If it’s an emergency, I guess we should be able to use our phones,” said Barrientos. “They said we can’t write Facebook statuses when we’re in school. That’s like our personal business. It has nothing to do with school.”Alondra Gonzalez, a freshman, said she thinks the policy is “dumb.””We need our time to use the phones,” said Gonzalez, who paused to answer her phone while being interviewed recently. “We just need our social hour.”Despite the complaints, Diorio said the policy is nothing new and he along with the staff will continue to enforce it.”We’ve always had a cell phone policy,” said Diorio. “It’s in the handbook and it’s school policy ? The policy is ‘Out of sight out of mind.'”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter @MattTempesta.