Tualatin High School (TuHS) is filled with mixed emotions over the school’s new phone lockers. Installed just before school began, these lockers have quickly become a hot topic among students, staff and parents, with many wondering if they were worth the investment. 

Sophomore Kaylynn Frink shared her initial reaction to the lockers.

“I originally didn’t like the idea of the lockers or the policy, but I think it’s nicer and more fair than what other schools around the US are doing,” Frink said. 

Students are more willing to use lockers because they know other schools have more strict rules. Countless people were not expecting students to adjust to this new policy. 

“I was actually surprised by how many students, first of all, said, ‘I don’t need to use the phone locker. I can keep it off and away and it’s not going to be a problem,’” English teacher Jessica Porter said. “And they were right. I was pleasantly surprised by that. And I think for the students who really struggle with it, the locker is a really good tool, to just physically separate the phone from them so that it’s not a constant temptation,” Porter said.

The lockers have also made a huge impact on how students have been interacting with each other. Normally, as students finish their classwork, they immediately pull out their phones. However, this year they can’t use their phones during class, so they have had to find new ways to kill time.

Have students been more social, and are they making more meaningful connections with each other? 

“Yeah, absolutely,” Porter said. “And talking and being more social, which I think is better.”

As TuHS students and staff navigate this new policy, one thing is clear: the conversation around phone lockers is far from over. Whether you’re a fan of phone lockers or not, everyone can agree the impact they have made is significant. Only time will tell if it was a smart investment or a costly distraction.