The grey pouches with a lime green trim have gotten the attention of students at West Side High School in Newark.

Particularly those who come to school late.

After tardy students pass through the metal detector, they must place their cellphones into the form-fitting pouch. A locking mechanism seals them, much like a security tag in a department store. The pouches are then given back to the students, who go about their day, unable to access their phones until they return to the vice principal's office, where the pouch is unlocked, at dismissal.

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Jayda Bryant, 16, didn't like the policy, but a day of phone deprivation two weeks ago seems to have cured her tardiness.

"I've been getting here on time,'' Bryant said.

The high school junior had showed up late for several days until Akbar Cook, vice principal of climate and culture, greeted her with the pouch and the rules that came with it.

"I thought you could open it, but you can't. I could feel my phone vibrating.''

She adjusted to the technology dragnet, then discovered she was more productive in class.

Raymond Jongbo, 17, said that after a day without being able to use his phone, he's not going to be late again. When Cook gave him the pouch, he worried how he would get by without his phone. But by the end of the day last Tuesday, Jongbo surprisingly realized he didn't need it.

"I think not having it (the cellphone) really helped me,'' said Jongbo, a senior. "I did all of my work much faster. I could focus in class and listen to the teacher.''

Graham Dugoni, founder of Yondr, the San Francisco company that manufactures the lockable pouch, couldn't be more satisfied to hear that. Dugoni said the pouches are used primarily during live performances and in education to create free phone spaces and foster social interaction.

"They (students) are growing up into a world that is hyper connected all of the time,'' Dugoni said.

Just look at the numbers. The typical cellphone user touches the phone 2,617 times every day, according to a study by research firm Dscout. For extreme cellphone users, the figure is nearly twice that with 5,400 touches daily.

"People lived another way before cellphones,'' Dugoni said. "It's possible to experience that, still. This is not turning back the clock. There is a way to live.''

And to enjoy life.

The Yondr pouches are popular among entertainers, who grew tired of their performances being shared on You Tube and social media. Performers such as David Chappelle, Chris Rock and Alicia Keys have used them so audiences would not be glued to their phones.

In classrooms, they're a hit with educators. Yondr pouches are used in approximately 600 schools, mostly in the United States and Canada. Germany, United Kingdom and the Netherlands have them, too. In other settings, Yondr pouches also have been used at weddings, courthouses, call tech centers and restaurants.

"People hear about them, schools in particular, and then they contact us,''Dugoni said.

Kipp Newark Collegiate Academy (NCA) purchased 450 pouches and began using them in September for all freshman and sophomore students. Chris Bonner, NCA's director of campus operations, said the cellphones became a classroom distraction last year and students were showing up late to class when they stopped to text in the hallway.

"We want to make sure the academic environment is as sterile as possible so the kids are focused on the reasons why we open the doors for them,'' Bonner said.

It's a rule that Tyranique Freeman, 15, could do without.

"It's unnecessary,'' the freshman said. "There's got to be a better way.''

Not until she becomes an upperclassman.

Bonner said juniors and seniors have earned the right to have their cellphones as long as they don't violate policy by using it in class. If they get caught, the students must surrender their phones to the pouch for one week.

Alonzo Eley, 19, a senior, slipped up once, but said it wasn't bad not having the phone.

"I coped with it,'' he said, understanding the rule. Kevin Gooden, 18, said the policy is needed because students use their phones on the sly. He's been one of them, but hasn't gotten caught.

"I think I'm going to chill out on it, because I don't want to get caught,'' the senior said.

At West Side, Cook said, the school used to confiscate phones, but that became a liability problem if a student claimed the phone was damaged after it was returned.

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When he began to see certain kids repeatedly come to school late, Cook figured the 55 pouches the school has would be a good deterrent.

The students I talked to get the message, but Cook is not certain of the impact yet, because the school just started using them in December.

The tactic, which nabs about 15 to 20 students a day, has given Cook insight as to why some of the kids are chronically late. Some, he said, have challenging lives at home, where they haven't eaten; others have to take younger siblings to school first before they get to West Side.

"I'm finding out the real problems of my kids and what they need,'' Cook said.

Overall, the students see the academic benefit, even the ones who are not late.

Carlos Oliveira, a computer design teacher, said he had a lot more interaction when his class was used to test the pouches for a week. Students were apprehensive at first, but agreed to do it once they learned they would get their phones back. And they were definitely on board when Oliveira put his phone in a pouch.

"It was a plus,'' Oliveira said. "You get more questions being asked.''

With the pouch, there's hope in the movement that Dugoni began four years ago.

Students are engaged - and thankfully more of them are coming to school on time.



Barry Carter: (973) 836-4925 or bcarter@starledger.com or

nj.com/carter or follow him on Twitter @BarryCarterSL