\u201cNew York was the first state to target addictive social media feeds \u2014 and now we\u2019re the largest state to restrict smartphones in schools throughout the entire school day,\u201d Hochul said at the time<\/a>. \u201cI know our young people succeed when they\u2019re learning and growing, not clicking and scrolling \u2014 and that\u2019s why New York continues to lead the nation on protecting our kids in the digital age.\u201d<\/p>\n The ban on the digital distraction is implemented differently at each high school, but many schools in Brooklyn ask their students put their phones in a pouch, have it scanned, and give it to school staff.<\/p>\n Tarah Montalbano, the principal at William E. Grady CTE High School <\/a>in Brighton Beach, said her staff was thrilled with the policy.<\/p>\n “We were already collecting phones and banning them in the classroom,” she said. “The students were using them in class and that disrupted instruction, and there were safety concerns because the kids would plan fights.”<\/p>\n Grecian Harrison, the principal of Boys and Girls High School in Bedford-Stuyvesant, <\/a>said her school began collecting phones in 2016.<\/p>\n “We were creating an environment of responsible, social interaction,” Harrison said. “The purpose of being in school is to be productive citizens and become critical thinkers. They were actually complying, and the students understood phones can be distracting.”<\/p>\n Early this month, Hochul’s office released a survey where 350 school administrators statewide responded\u00a0to a questionnaire on how the ban was proceeding. Of the respondents, 92% said their schools easily became\u00a0distraction-free learning places, while 83%\u00a0reported that students paid more attention in class and interacted better with their classmates and teachers.<\/p>\n Many Brooklyn high school students echoed what the survey found.\u00a0<\/p>\n “I’m more focused in class and my grades went up,” said Yieng Yan, a sophomore at New Utrecht High School<\/a>\u00a0in Bensonhurst.<\/p>\n![\"img_2869\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/img_2869.JPG;w=960.jpeg\"\/)
\nA phone pouch. Photo: BK Reader Staff
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