Help me give my students phone lockers in every English classroom next year so they can stay focused, minimize distractions, and fully engage in reading, writing, and discussion
$1,707 goal
This project expired on September 18, 2025.
This project expired on September 18, 2025.
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Project
In today’s digital age, our students are growing up in an environment that makes it harder than ever to concentrate, connect meaningfully, and feel mentally well. I’m seeking phone lockers for every English classroom in our school — not to punish or restrict students, but to give them the gift of presence. When phones are safely tucked away, students can fully engage with their learning, their peers, and themselves.
Research shows this isn’t just an educational issue — it’s a mental health crisis.
According to The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, rates of anxiety, depression, and loneliness have skyrocketed among teens since the rise of the smartphone. Haidt calls for phone-free schools as a way to rebuild student attention spans, emotional resilience, and real-world social skills.
The Social Dilemma underscores how platforms are designed to hijack attention, encouraging compulsive use and eroding the ability to focus. By creating tech-free spaces, we empower students to regain control of their attention — a skill essential for success not only in academics, but in life.
As Free-Range Kids author Lenore Skenazy notes, today’s youth are also missing out on important moments of independence and problem-solving, in part due to over-supervised, tech-filled environments. Giving students regular, screen-free time supports the development of confidence and autonomy.
With your support, we can create a school culture that values presence, focus, and balance. These phone lockers are a simple, practical tool to help students thrive in the classroom and beyond.
More than half of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
999 students impacted
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