(TNS) — Idaho’s largest school district is looking at reducing screen time for students throughout the day, a marked shift from years earlier when schools relied heavily on electronic devices.
The West Ada School District seeks to make 90 percent of the day for elementary students and 80 percent of the day for middle school students screen-free. During a board meeting last week, Rhonda McDonough, the district’s chief academic officer of teaching and learning, said these numbers are targets, and acknowledged the importance of technology in schools. Over the next few months, the district will continue to assess the data and listen to feedback, she said.
“This is about our students,” she told the board. “We serve roughly 40,000 students across 60 schools now, and how we use devices in our classroom every day matters. The social-emotional wellness of our students is our responsibility, too, not separate from academics, part of it.”…