NORTHFIELD — According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children ages 5 to 8 spend an average of about three and a half hours per day consuming digital media.
The Pioneer Valley Regional School District is looking to change that, or at the very least, reduce how much screen time students have access to in the classroom.
Superintendent Patricia Kinsella announced in September that over the next few weeks, teachers at Bernardston and Northfield elementary schools will be working to remove laptops and tablets from early childhood classrooms. This is being done to provide screen-free classrooms in preschool through second grade by January.
“Young children need time to play with each other and to learn from the trusted adults who are educating them. What they don’t need is more time on screens,” Kinsella said in a statement. “We’re going to create even more space for active learning in Pioneer classrooms.”
Students in grades three through 12 will still have access to computers and tablets; however, the district will be working to reduce screen time. Teachers will be encouraged to plan paper-and-pencil lessons, and will be given 14 paid hours to inventory current classroom use of Chromebooks and other technologies, as well as develop ways to replace this with hands-on learning
“Kids don’t need an app to practice their math facts,” Northfield Elementary School Principal Kristen Schreiber said in a statement. “Something like a set of index cards that kids have written their math facts on can work even better. It’s fun, it’s meaningful and you don’t need to plug it in.”
The decision to go screen-free in early education classrooms is included in the district’s strategic action plan as a step to improve students’ writing skills and MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) achievement in English language arts.
According to MCAS data from the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Pioneer Valley Regional School District has seen a decline in the percentage of third graders meeting and exceeding expectations in English language arts. While Pioneer is not alone in this trend and the statewide average of students meeting and exceeding expectations has decreased, the district has been below the state average in four of the past five years. In 2022, Pioneer matched the state average of 44% of students meeting or exceeding expectations in English language arts.
Kinsella said that as part of the screen-free efforts, the district is asking DESE to consider allowing Pioneer students in grades three through 10 to return to taking the MCAS tests on paper. The department began rolling out computerized tests in 2017 and reached a full statewide computer exam in 2019.
During a September School Committee meeting, Kinsella said that DESE has not yet said whether Pioneer can use paper MCAS tests, but the screen-free classroom initiative has received support from teachers, committee members and the Massachusetts Association of School Committees.
“Pioneer is moving thoughtfully on an important issue, and this could be a great model for other districts to consider,” Glenn Koocher, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of School Committees, said in a statement.
“I’m really excited, and I’m so proud to be in a district that cares about the brain development of our youngest ones,” Heather Butynski, a preschool teacher at Northfield Elementary School, said in a statement. “From the changes I’ve seen in children over the past few years, I believe children need less technology in their lives, not more. This isn’t a ‘war on technology.’ This is about preserving and protecting childhood.”
According to the National Institutes of Health, excessive screen time has been found to have negative impacts on children’s cognitive, linguistic and social-emotional growth. Screen time has been linked to a rise in obesity, sleep disorders, depression and anxiety.
A 2024 report from Lynn University found that technology can be beneficial in early education settings, particularly with diagnostic assessments and communication with families, but warned that if used inappropriately, technology can diminish students’ ability to connect with peers and think critically.
“We’re learning more and more about the negative impact that screen use can have on our students’ well-being,” Bernardston Elementary School Principal Sarah Burstein said in a statement, “and we want to do everything that we can to reduce that impact.”
The measure continues a trend of reducing technology within the schools, including through a bell-to-bell cellphone ban the Pioneer school district implemented in 2024.
“Pioneer is becoming a statewide leader when it comes to creating school environments that protect children and teens,” Pioneer School Committee Chair Melissa Gerry said in a statement. “We were among the first to enact a bell-to-bell cellphone ban in June 2024, and that policy has been incredibly successful. Removing screens from early childhood classrooms and reducing screens in grades 3-12 is the logical next step.”
