This school year at RAHS one of the biggest changes impacting students is the phone policy. Previously, phones were required to be silenced and put away either in a locker or a bag.

As of the 2024-2025 school year, all phones are to be silenced and put in bins for the entire class period. According to the school, this change is designed to reduce distractions to help improve attention and academics.

This stricter policy means that taking out phones during free time or work time is no longer an option. Without the choice of using phones when work is done, people have had to adapt and find other ways to fill their free class time.

People have been spending this time in different ways, and have varying feelings about their productivity. Adelaide Marr (11) said, “I have mainly been getting homework done while in free time, and if I need a break I’ll either talk to friends or play solitaire on my iPad.”

Many people have been spending their time in a similar way, doing homework or playing games. Others have gotten more creative, like Alex Terrell (10) who said, “I like to read the news and just see what’s going on in the world.”

Several people have been getting more work done because of the new policy. Marr said, “I am getting a bit more done in the extra moments at the end of class when I would usually go on my phone.”

Overall, people have seemed to adjust fairly well to the change without it feeling too drastic. Some additional activities that people could do during their free class time include drawing, playing games on their iPads, or reading.