What are Yondr Pouches and how does a Storm Lake school use them to decrease phone distractions?

STORM LAKE, Iowa (KTIV) - Iowa schools are strengthening policies on cell phones in school as Iowa’s governor considers signing a bill restricting cell phone use during instructional time.

Last month, Storm Lake St. Mary’s Middle and High School introduced Yondr pouches to keep phone distractions to a minimum.

“It’s sad for the first week, and everybody at the school is going to cry about it and be super sad. And then it’s just like another thing. You just get used to it,” said Carissa Elsden, a junior at Storm Lake St. Mary’s.

Yondr pouches are made of fabric and are secured by a pin that can only be released with a magnet.

In the morning, students are monitored to ensure they are putting their phones in the Yondr pouch. They use the magnet in the lobby to open it, put their phone inside, and close it shut.

“Every morning is probably the worst part because you go from having your phone in the morning and at night and then you put it away for eight hours,” said Elsden.

In cases of an evacuation, the administration has portable magnets to unlock pouches once students are in a safe location. The school utilizes text alerts if they need to update parents during an emergency.

“In a lot of those cases you wouldn’t really want students on their phones until everything was safe because they need to be listening to instructions from teachers about where to go and where to get to safety and stuff like that,” said Storm Lake St. Mary’s Principal Ryan Berg.

The office also has a permanent magnet for students who come in late or get checked out early.

Elsden said her friendships have gotten stronger since the Yondr pouches have gone out.

“It also allows me to hang out with people after school more, if that makes sense. If I have something to show someone I have to wait and then I spend more time talking to them after school. It’s almost a way that you can have more friendship with the people around you,” explained Elsden.

During lunch, administrators give students 10 minutes to be on their phones. Now, Elsden says she enjoys playing cards with her friends during that time.

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