Cell Phone-Free

If you arrive at school after 8:10 a.m., enter school as you normally would through the main entrance. You’ll sign in, then store your phone in your Yondr pouch at the Campus Safety Desk.

Planned early dismissals: If you know you will be leaving school early and your parents have input that information into Veracross, exit school as you normally would through the main entrance. You’ll sign out, and Campus Safety will unpouch your phone for you.

Unplanned early dismissals: If you are dismissed by the Health Office or school counselors, they will contact your parents. You will exit campus through the Campus Safety desk, where a member of the Campus Safety team will unpouch your phone.

Early dismissal for GFA athletics events: A member of the Athletics Department will be at the Campus Safety Desk to unpouch your phone as you leave campus.

If you have to make a phone call during the academic day, please see Ms. Taliercio in the Upper School Office, your advisor, or your dean for permission to use a school phone.

You may return during school hours (before 5:00 p.m.), and a member of the Campus Safety team will assist you. Otherwise, bring the pouch to school the next school day; you’ll be able to unpouch and pouch as you normally would.

Multiple doors will be staffed for student entrance and exit at the beginning and the end of the day (more details will be shared during student orientation).

We understand that periodically, circumstances may arise that require you to be in contact with your child during the school day. Should you need to contact your child during school hours, please contact the Upper School Office at (203) 256-7567, and we will ensure that a message is shared with your child in a timely fashion.

All classrooms and offices have a phone that can call 911. During classroom orientation, we will ensure that students are aware of the location of landline phones and what to do in the event of an emergency. Additional phones are available outside of the classrooms and throughout the building.

GFA’s emergency protocols provide clear direction to all community members. In accordance with best practices in school safety, we engage in periodic drills in order to underscore the importance of

• being aware of one’s surroundings,
• being quiet and listening for directions from an adult, and
• being prepared to follow directions and/or make informed decisions.

Please note that the protocols we have in place have been designed in partnership with local law enforcement and emergency services and are based on research and best practice related to school safety. The best thinking about safety, and common sense, recommends that students do not make individual calls, send texts, take videos or pictures, or engage in any other activities on their cell phones during an emergency.

Please communicate with our nurse, Stephanie Pappas, who will work with the Student Support Team to clarify a plan to provide the needed access and support.

Having observed the benefits of a cell-phone-free learning environment for our students over the past decade in our Middle School, we know that providing students with the opportunity to navigate the peaks and valleys of the academic day helps to build resilience—a valuable learning opportunity unto itself. We encourage students to partner with trusted adults in the Upper School to address challenges that may arise during a school day.

If you have concerns about your child not having their phone to check in throughout the school day, or if this concern arises in the future, please contact the Upper School counselors to establish support and connection for your child. The Upper School counselors will work with you and your child to provide the skills and resources needed to navigate this transition.

In the event that your child uses their phone to connect with an outside provider during the school day, please inform the Upper School counselors, who will support your child in communicating with their provider from a confidential space.

In the event that a call home is necessary during school hours, a student may be given permission to use a school phone to contact a family member. If a parent must contact their child during the school day, they may contact Ms. Taliercio in the Upper School office, who will ensure that the student has access to a telephone.

In the event of an emergency situation at home, parents should contact school personnel.

We expect our students to contribute to the learning environment we seek to provide by following our community norms. Should students fall short of these norms, we will aim to help them develop the understanding, requisite skills, and strategies to help them align with community expectations. Cell phones found outside of a student’s designated pouch during the school day will be held in the Upper School office, and deans will assign detention and/or on-campus restriction. Please refer to the Cell Phones and Wearable Technology section of The Handbook for more information.

All schedules are available in Veracross, which is accessible to each student through any computer. We also recommend students print a copy of their schedule and keep it in their lockers, and print a second copy for their planners and/or notebooks.

Planned early dismissals: Students who know they are leaving early should exit campus through the Campus Safety desk. Members of our Campus Safety team will be able to see planned dismissals on Veracross and release student phones. If the planned dismissal has not been entered in advance on Veracross, students will be directed to Ms. Taliercio’s office, and she will contact a parent to confirm the dismissal.

Unplanned early dismissals: If the early dismissal is unplanned (either for illness or an unplanned appointment), please call Ms. Taliercio (203)-256-7567. She will locate your student from their classroom and direct them to the Campus Safety desk to unpouch their phones. If students are dismissed via the Health Office or school counselors, they should exit campus through the Campus Safety desk, where a member of the Campus Safety team will unpouch the student’s phone.

Pouched phones should remain in a student’s backpack or locker. Each Yondr pouch will be individually numbered, so if a pouched phone is misplaced and recovered, Campus Safety can reunite the lost phone with its owner.

Apple's Find My network can track a lost iPhone, even if the phone has been turned off or is offline. For this to work, Find My Network must be enabled on the iPhone before it's lost, and the phone must be an iPhone 11 or later model. The iPhone cannot be located if it is in airplane mode.

Google's Find My Device tool supports offline finding for Android phones, but it only works with the Pixel 8 series. For supported devices, like the Pixel 8 series, if the device runs out of battery or is off, the Find My Device network can still locate the phone for several hours after it’s turned off.

• Set the option to With network in high-traffic areas or With network in all areas.
• Make sure Bluetooth and Location are turned on when the phone shuts down.

GFA will provide each student with one Yondr pouch. In the event of a lost or damaged pouch, GFA will provide a replacement pouch, and the family will be charged the cost to the school ($30).

In the event that a serious medical need necessitates monitoring via cellular technology, exemptions may be granted if no viable alternatives are available.