In Episode 1 of The Satellite, we learn why Jonathan Haidt’s New York Times Best Seller The Anxious Generation resonated with educators and parents at St. Anne’s School, and the research and conversations that went into the School’s new Personal Device Policy—a policy which takes a hard stance on banning phones in school. From the trends educators are noticing with regard to students’ personal device use at school to both anecdotal stories and quantitative analysis on the impact that personal device use has on student learning and students’ social behaviors, we learn the importance of keeping children young and why implementing school policy beginning at the middle school level (or even earlier) is so important. We hear discussion on how parents and students are reacting to the new policy, and we end with a conversation on how the School plans to measure the benefits of enacting the new policy, as well as learning how this data will be shared not just with the School’s community, but with other educators across the nation who are looking at St. Anne’s School as a pioneer on this forefront.

Host: Liza Johnson

Guests: Connie Coker (Head of School), Dr. Hadley Moore