- Westside Community Schools elementary school students can no longer use iPads during recess and free time
- On average, Westside elementary students use iPads for less than 1 hour of their 6-hour school day, according to a district official
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) – Westside Community Schools is limiting iPad use for elementary students after a group of parents pushed the district to reduce technology in the classroom.
Paul Vonderfecht co-founded Pencils Before Pixels, a parent group advocating for less tech use in Westside classrooms. Vonderfecht said he wants his two elementary school-aged children reading books and playing outside rather than spending time on screens.
"At home we, we don't use tablets or phones, so we limit it here," Vonderfecht said.
He said conversations with his children revealed they were spending free time and recess on iPads at school.
"They're spending time, free time – whether it's recess or free time on the iPad – and it just didn't seem right," Vonderfecht said.
Vonderfecht said the concern is widespread among some parents in the district.
"I feel like every parent we've spoken to feels like there's an over usage of technology in the classroom," Vonderfecht said.
Kelcy Tapp, Westside's director of elementary teaching and learning, said elementary students are using iPads for less than 1 hour out of their 6 hours of daily instruction on average.
She said technology plays an important role in the district's approach to education. Tapp said the technology helps teachers identify where students are struggling.
"Westside has always been a leader in technology," Tapp said.
The district has made changes in response to parent concerns. Students can no longer use iPads during recess or free time, and restrictions have been placed on apps like YouTube.
"What kind of impact did the parents, if any, have on that decision?" 3 News Now's Jeremy Fredricks asked.
"Schools and parents and kids need to work together, and so I think we are always listening to our parents and our community," Tapp said.
Vonderfecht said the changes are a step in the right direction, but he is not finished pushing for more.
"Yeah, it's a good start. But it's just a start. So those were the low lowest of the low hanging fruit," Vonderfecht said. "Now we need to go to the next step and evaluate it holistically."
Vonderfecht said he is meeting with a state lawmaker next month to push for schools to be transparent with parents about how their children are using technology in the classroom, as well as to establish a screen time usage maximum.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
