A group of parents in “Barrington Area Unit School District 220” are asking district officials to reduce the reliance on technology in classrooms and more closely monitor students’ screan time.
By Steve Zalusky | Daily Herald
More than 1,200 parents, educators and community members have signed a petition calling on Barrington Area Unit School District 220 to reduce students’ screen time and access to technological devices.
“Technology can absolutely be a valuable educational tool,” Jenna Bennett, one of the parents involved in the effort, said in a statement. “But a tool should be used purposefully — not become the default.”
The parents are asking the district to demonstrate how and why technology is being used, establish appropriate guardrails, and ensure educators’ decisions are supported by research and data.
District 220 Superintendent Craig Winkelman said educators already are addressing some of the concerns, including with a policy change this year that keeps kindergarten and first-grade students from taking school-issued iPads home, unless teachers require it for an assignment.
“We used to have a stance that all of our devices went home as the standard, and we have changed that,” Winkelman said.
Petition signers say they want to district to go further, by keeping all elementary students’ devices at school whenever possible and creating screen-free lunch environments in middle schools.
Report continues here.
Editorial note: The petition the report refers to can be found here.
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