Solutions & Policies

for distraction-free education

Yondr smart phone pouches

Yondr uses a simple yet effective approach with their pouches to create phone-free environments in schools and other venues. Here’s how it typically works in a school setting:

Distribution and Locking: At the beginning of the school day, students place their smartphones into Yondr pouches. These pouches are then locked with a proprietary locking mechanism, similar to a clothing security tag.
Carrying Throughout the Day: Students keep the locked pouches with them throughout the school day. This allows them to retain possession of their phones while ensuring the devices cannot be used or become a distraction during school hours.
Unlocking: At the end of the day, students return to the designated unlocking stations. These stations have a device that unlocks the pouches, allowing students to retrieve their phones.

The Yondr system is designed to ensure that phones are physically present but inaccessible, helping schools enforce their phone-free policies effectively while minimizing administrative oversight and the need for constant monitoring by teachers. This method has been reported to improve focus among students, decrease digital distractions, and foster better engagement in educational activities.

Phone Away Box

In schools, the Phone Away Box helps students focus on learning by keeping distractions at bay.

Here’s how the PhoneAwayBox typically functions in schools:

Collection at the Start of the Day: Upon arrival at school, students are required to deposit their smart phones into individual compartments within the PhoneAwayBox. Each compartment is secure and typically can only be opened with a key or a unique access code.
Secure Storage During School Hours: The PhoneAwayBox is designed to be tamper-proof and secure, ensuring that phones are safely stored away during school hours. This helps prevent theft and unauthorized access to the phones.
Retrieval at the End of the Day: At the end of the school day, the PhoneAwayBox is unlocked, and students retrieve their phones. Depending on the system, this might involve a teacher or school administrator unlocking each box, or students entering their unique codes to access their phones.

The PhoneAwayBox is effective in keeping phones out of students’ hands during classes, thereby minimizing distractions and encouraging greater focus and participation in classroom activities. Schools that implement such systems often report improvements in student engagement and a decrease in disciplinary issues related to phone use.

The research

Learn more about how smart phones are affecting students' mental health and academic performance

Educator resources

Bring phone-free policies to your classrooms!

Sign the petition

Join the Denton community and sing our petition for enacting phone-free policies at Denton campuses

Success stories

Read about school that enacted phone-free policies and how they are thriving as a result.