VALLEY CITY, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – As many of you know, this year we have implemented the new state law that bans student cell phones within our schools. Like sentiments that have already been shared by educators across North Dakota, the law has had a positive impact on our students, staff, and school. We’ve witnessed students being more engaged throughout the school day, including in the classroom, hallways, and lunchroom. Besides increased engagement, another positive we have seen is decreased student conflicts previously centered around cell phones and social media. To be honest, in hindsight, I wish we would have been bold enough to have these rules in place before
the new state law.

With the new state law having a positive impact on students, I’ve begun to ponder what could be done to address the behaviors of adults on social media. For many years, I’ve made the conscious decision to not engage on social media because of the toxicity surrounding this mode of communication. Despite my own personal choices, I still hear plenty about the negativity that occurs on social media, specifically Facebook pages associated with Valley City. There’s a reason people say, “don’t believe everything you read on Facebook.” Social media can easily amplify negativity and partial truths. Lately, I’ve become concerned about posts related to Valley City, where discussions can sometimes focus on only one side of an issue rather than the full picture. This is NOT helping us attract new families or businesses coming to our awesome community, specifically individuals outside of our community who are only reading these harmful posts on social media, when they may not have access to other facts shared at public meetings or through
our local trusted media sources.

Because of the actions of our state legislators and Governor Armstrong, we now have a state law that restricts student use of cell phones within our schools. Along with this and the education our schools provide for our students on the proper uses of technology, maybe we can hope there is a future that includes less negativity, toxicity, or keyboard warriors on social media. I can’t help but think that maybe this was part of the mission behind the state law.

In the meantime, I would encourage us to ‘fact check’ the information often spewed on social media and consider the impact that your participation may be having on our community. What would happen if adults, like how we’ve told our kids, put down our cell phones and uses of social media, and engaged with one another in our community? Maybe we also would see a positive impact. I am happy to sit down and meet with anyone who wants to learn more about the positive impacts the state law has on our students, staff, and school district. Also, I will be sharing this communication with our local media and on the Facebook, page called “Valley City: What’s Happening?” Why share these thoughts now? I absolutely love this school district and community; it is home for me and my family. I want to see this community continue to thrive and become a growing community in North Dakota. We will not achieve this if we continue to divide ourselves and spread harmful narratives about our community—especially when information is incomplete, inaccurate, or shared without understanding the full context.

Josh Johnson, Superintendent of Valley City Public Schools.