We believe in thoughtful, well-vetted technology that meaningfully supports learning. We also believe families deserve a seat at the table when those choices get made. Our role is to be a supportive partner to Concord's schools: gathering research, listening to families, and helping the district build the policies this fast-moving landscape demands.
1:1 devices, digital learning tools, and AI are part of students' daily school experience, from elementary classrooms through CCHS.
Few written policies and vetting procedures currently guide how digital tools are chosen, used, and reviewed across our schools.
The Massachusetts House and Senate have each passed bell-to-bell school phone bans, and a final, combined bill is expected. Districts are likely to need policies in place as early as the 2026-27 school year, and many nationwide are already setting intentional screen-time guidelines.
Everything we advocate for at the district level comes down to two requests, both designed to support, not burden, our educators and administrators.
Implement and consistently enforce a bell-to-bell, off-and-away personal device policy in every school, with effective storage so the policy works in practice, not just on paper.
With both the House and Senate having passed bell-to-bell bans and a final bill expected, Concord has a chance to lead on thoughtful implementation rather than scramble to comply.
Form a one-year advisory committee of school committee members, educators, students, parents, and expert advisors, charged with creating recommendations for the district around policies, procedures, reporting practices, and ongoing oversight of EdTech and AI.
Decision-making around EdTech and AI is becoming more complex every year. A TAC shares that load, streamlines decisions, and protects the district from gaps in oversight.
We're asking our schools to make intentional choices, and the CMS parent pledge is one of the ways families hold up our end: keeping personal devices home, routing school-day communication through the office, and backing educators as they keep the school day focused.
Beyond specific concerns, our community survey asked how informed and heard families feel about technology decisions in our schools. The pattern is consistent: families want more visibility and a real channel for input.
From the coalition's community survey, April to May 2026: a self-selected community snapshot, not a scientific poll. Figures reflect the 71 of 78 respondents from Concord Public Schools and CCHS families. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding. Descriptive associations, not causal claims.
Every two years, Concord-Carlisle students answer their own near-census survey, the Emerson Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Set beside what families told us, their answers point the same way: phones are hard to set down, and harder as students get older. We share these as a community snapshot, not as proof of cause.
of Concord-Carlisle students feel they spend too much time on their phones, with the same share saying so about social media. That feeling climbs with age, reaching 60% by twelfth grade.
of high schoolers say they lose focus in class at least occasionally because they are checking their phone, up from 15% in sixth grade.
of Concord-Carlisle high schoolers keep a phone in the bedroom at night, and across all grades 7% of students wake at least once a night to a device.
of high schoolers have a parent who monitors their phone use, down from 70% in sixth grade, just as independent access grows.
From the 2024 Emerson Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Concord-Carlisle Regional School District, conducted in spring 2024 by Market Street Research. 79% of the district's 1,677 enrolled students responded, making it a near-census look at our own students. Figures are for Concord-Carlisle students, by grade or district-wide as noted. Descriptive associations, not causal claims.
We've encouraged the district to include the following in its forthcoming technology report. Good decisions start with a clear picture of where things stand.
By grade and subject, how much time do students spend on school-issued devices, on which tools, and how is that time monitored and managed?
By school and grade, what written policies guide digital technology use, and what instruction on digital health, digital hygiene, and mental well-being is part of the current curriculum?
An inventory of the digital learning and AI tools used at each grade level: their educational purpose, what student data they collect, and what they cost.
How YouTube and web access on school devices is used and managed, and how inappropriate or harmful content is identified and addressed.
In its districtwide Continuous Improvement plan, presented to the School Committee in January 2025, the district named family partnership on student technology as a goal, in its own words.
"Partner with parents and community members to identify and engage with best practices for student technology, including social media use."
Concord Public Schools and Concord-Carlisle Regional School District, districtwide Continuous Improvement plan, presented to the School Committee, January 2025.
We could not agree more, and families are ready to be that partner. The structure to make it real already has a name: a Technology Advisory Committee. We will keep showing up, sharing research, and offering to help, so this becomes everyday practice rather than a line in a plan.
See what a committee would doA TAC is a supportive partner to the district: a one-year committee of school committee members, educators, students, parents, and expert advisors that does the research and produces recommendations on EdTech and AI, so that decisions rest on evidence rather than urgency.
Come to a meeting, read the community survey, or add your voice at a school committee meeting. Every bit of constructive engagement helps.