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School Cell Phone Ban at Taft High School Lifted

By Heather Cherone | December 5, 2014 3:07pm | Updated on December 8, 2014 8:23am
 Taft students now have permission to use their cell phones before and after school, between classes and in the cafeteria during lunch. (File photo)
Taft students now have permission to use their cell phones before and after school, between classes and in the cafeteria during lunch. (File photo)
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NORWOOD PARK — Students at Taft High School will no longer have to use their cell phones surreptitiously during lunch after Principal Mark Grishaber Friday eased the ban.

Students now have permission to use their cell phones and iPods before and after school, between classes and in the cafeteria during their lunch period, Grishaber said.

The school's leadership team made the decision after attendance rose 3 percent this year compared with last year, and the number of expulsion hearings dropped to zero from 46, Grishaber said.

"With all the positive changes and uplifting vibes we have felt this year we thought we would be in step with other high-functioning schools like Maine South and Whitney Young and allow our students to have the same privileges as those students," said Grishaber, who took the top job at the school in July.

In October, Grishaber offered to ease the ban if students met a series of challenges. However, the students failed to meet the benchmarks in attendance, voter registration and survey completion.

Grishaber, who was an assistant principal at Whitney Young High School before coming to Taft, said it was impossible for faculty and staff to police the cell phone ban, especially during the 50-minute lunch period. He had noted that without cell phones, students tended to engage in "horseplay" at the end of lunch.

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