Meeting for the first time since the Huguenot High School graduation shooting trial ended last week, the Richmond School Board failed to discuss the trial, which resulted in Amari Pollard, 20, accepting a plea deal.

Mr. Pollard pleaded guilty to one charge of first degree murder and one charge of the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony for the death of Shawn Jackson shortly after the Huguenot High School student accepted his diploma at the Altria Theater in June 2023. Mr. Pollard was sentenced to 43 years with 18 years suspended.

Instead, the board discussed a Care and Safety update that includes a cell phone pouch pilot program designed to reduce cell phone usage in RPS by locking students’ phones in so-called Yondr pouches each morning. Six schools volunteered to participate in the pilot, including Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, Huguenot High School and John Marshall High School.

Early observations suggest that teachers and staff are reacting positively to the implementation.

In a staff survey with 232 responses, 58.6% of staff believe the program is successful, while 41.4% of staff believe the program is unsuccessful. Of the 232 responses, 42.7% of staff believe the pouch program should continue, 21.1% believe it should not continue and 36.2% believe it should be continued with updated procedures.

Benefits of the pouches mentioned by staff include less classroom disruptions and more student engagement. Other benefits mentioned include improved grades, more socializing and less recorded fights.

Students have a different perspective of the pouches, however.

In just over 1,300 responses, 81.4% of students believe the program is unsuccessful, while 18.6% believe it is successful.

Most students believe the program should be discontinued (83.5%), with the remaining students believing the program should continue with or without adjustments to the procedures.

The student survey also revealed that students are missing buses while trying to open the pouches at the end of the day, that they are bored during lunchtime without entertainment and that they cannot use Google Translate to navigate language barriers, among many other grievances mentioned.

Student representative Tianna Goins, a sophomore at Huguenot High School, said she and her peers dislike the pouches, saying they are “contradicting” and cause anxiety among students who don’t have ready access to their cell phones, particularly amid a climate of ongoing school violence. There needs to be more respect for student property, Ms. Goins said.

Ms. Goins explained the ways students are showing their objection to the program: destroying the pouches, keeping calculators in the pouches and hiding phones where they cannot be found by staff. She said that students should be allowed to have their phones at the end of classes as opposed to at the end of the school day, and harsher punishments could be implemented for students who still break the rules.

Length of time to enter school buildings was a repeated concern throughout the meeting.

Ms. Goins noted the lengthy wait students have when arriving at school due to routine bag searches. Ms. Goins suggested mesh or clear bags to speed up the process.

When discussing metal detectors in schools, Shavonda Dixon, 9th District representative, mentioned the amount of time it takes for students to go through the detectors. Because bag searches are the most time consuming, Ms. Dixon suggested clear bags for students to decrease the amount of time it takes.

Mariah White, 2nd District representative, also advocated for the use of clear bags for students throughout the meeting.

The care and safety presentation suggested the use of metal detectors in elemenary schools following a Feb. 20 incident at Oak Grove-Bellemeade Elementary School when a student brought a loaded gun to school.

Ms. Dixon questioned what warranted going straight to metal detectors in elementary schools as an option and if this idea was “jumping the gun.” Data on the effects of metal detectors in elementary schools and other alternatives should be explored before implementing the detectors, Ms. Dixon said.

Dawn Page, 8th District representative, believes the decision to have metal detectors in elementary schools should not be “reactionary.” In agreement with Ms. Dixon, Mrs. Page “strongly supports” exploring other options before “we just jump in and make a decision that will have lasting effects on our young people.”

Cheryl Burke, 7th District representative, questioned how parents are being held accountable for the guns children bring to school.

Stephanie Rizzi, board chair and 5th District representative, suggested that more research should be done. Peer-reviewed research would help to see the effects of metal detectors in elementary schools and how they help, she said. She added that peer-reviewed research would show that the negatives outweigh the positives.