THE STUDENT JOURNEY

Our Bell-to-Bell Cell Phone Policy didn't begin with a decision—it began with a question.

What kind of school environment best supports learning, relationships, and human flourishing?

Rather than adopting a policy from the top down, O'Dowd invited students to help answer that question. Over the course of a year, students partnered with faculty and school leaders to study research, visit peer schools, engage the O'Dowd community, and develop recommendations rooted in both evidence and our Catholic mission.

Here's the journey they took.

Phase 1: Asking the Right Question

Students began by examining what they were seeing in their own community.

Teachers described phones as a constant source of distraction during class. Counselors and Health & Wellness staff shared increasing concerns about loneliness, anxiety, and disconnection among adolescents. During lunch and passing periods, students often found themselves together physically but separated by their screens.

Rather than jumping to solutions, students asked:

What kind of school environment best supports learning, relationships, attention, belonging, and well-being?

Phase 2: Following the Research

Students explored research on:

adolescent brain development
attention and habit formation
persuasive technology and social media design
dopamine reward cycles
human flourishing
healthy technology habits

They studied books, academic research, and reports from organizations including the Center for Humane Technology, examined whistleblower testimony from social media companies, and discussed how today's digital environment shapes the everyday lives of teenagers.

One insight stood out:

Healthy habits are shaped less by willpower than by environment. The most successful people aren't constantly resisting temptation—they create conditions where focus and healthy choices become easier.

Students began asking what that insight might mean for school.

Phase 3: Seeing It in Practice

Students visited Saint Ignatius College Preparatory in San Francisco and Saint Mary's College High School in Berkeley to experience phone-free campuses firsthand.

They observed classrooms, spent time with students during lunch and breaks, and spoke candidly with teachers, administrators, and students.

They discovered something they hadn't expected.

While students admitted the transition had been difficult at first, many described healthier relationships with their phones, stronger friendships, and new habits that extended beyond school—including reading more, focusing better during homework, and spending more time talking with friends. Just as striking were the small moments: students greeting one another in the hallways, conversations continuing between classes, and a greater sense of presence throughout the school day.

Teachers described classrooms with fewer interruptions, greater engagement, and hallways filled with more conversation.

Phase 4: Listening to Our Community

Before making any recommendation, students invited others into the conversation.

Families, faculty, and students shared feedback through surveys and discussions.

More than 75% of parents strongly supported the policy. More than 85% of faculty supported moving to a bell-to-bell phone-free day, and approximately 80% of more than 115 student leaders voted in favor after hearing the research and recommendations presented by their peers.

The recommendation reflected not only research, but the voices of the O'Dowd community.

Phase 5: Turning Research into Action

Students worked alongside faculty and school leaders to think through implementation, education around healthy technology habits, support for students during the transition, and ways to create more opportunities for connection throughout the school day.

Their work helped shape both the policy and how it will be lived on campus.

Rooted in Our Mission

As a Catholic school, O'Dowd believes education is fundamentally relational.

Pope Leo XIV writes:

"Schools are not called to follow the pace of the digital world, but to offer that which the digital sphere by itself cannot provide, namely a shared time for learning and developing trustworthy relationships."

O’Dowd’s Bell-to-Bell Cell Phone Policy is about protecting the moments technology cannot replace: conversations in the hallway, laughter at lunch, deeper engagement in class, and the relationships that help young people discover who they are and who they are becoming.

Continuing the Journey

The Bell-to-Bell Cell Phone Policy is not the end of this work.

As students adapt to the new policy, O'Dowd is committed to creating even more opportunities for belonging, play, conversation, and community throughout the school day.

This policy is not simply about putting phones away.

It is about creating space for something better.