District leaders recently set rules requiring Ecker Hill Middle School and Park City High School students to secure their cellphones in lockable pouches during the school day starting this fall.
Each morning, teachers will lock student cellphones in the fabric pouches — known by the brand name Yondr — using a magnet. Students will keep the pouches during the day, but won’t be able to access their phones until they are unlocked at the end of school.
Park City Education Foundation President Ingrid Whitely said the nonprofit is funding the effort to buy pouches and locking/unlocking mechanisms.
“The district came to us to ask for support in philanthropically funding this,” she said. “There are about 2,000 students at both of the secondary schools, so with Ecker and the high school, and so the cost to cover this will be about $60,000 for the initial purchase.”
Just under $30,000 has been raised so far.
The foundation also funded pouch purchases during the 2024-25 school year when Treasure Mountain Junior High ran a pilot program to test their use. That followed the district’s adoption of a cellphone ban policy.
The district says the pilot was very successful and resulted in a 72% reduction in behavioral incidents at Treasure compared to the previous year. Teachers also saw increased student focus and had more productive instructional time.
Whitely said the foundation is excited to support the program as it expands to students in grades six through 12.
“We know that, you know, majority of parents don't want their students to have cell phones out during the school day. It impedes learning,” she said. “So we're hoping that more families will be excited to support this initiative so that we can make sure it's ready to go for the beginning of the school year.”
The district will only provide the first cellphone pouch. If students lose or damage the cellphone pouch, they will incur a $45 fee to replace it.
