WATERTOWN, MASS. (WHDH) - Students across the state are heading back to school, with a busy day predicted on the roads and in classrooms in many districts.
Some schools in the state started in late August, but a rush of first days fall after Labor Day including for students in Cambridge, Brookline, Attleboro, Canton, and Bridgewater-Raynham.
In Watertown, the high school is introducing a new pilot program aimed at keeping kids off their phones during class.
The “Doorman” app uses software to limit the functionality of cell phones while on school grounds.
Students will tap their phones on door tags when they enter their classrooms, which will then redirect the phones’ web traffic through an encrypted server, preventing texting and other distractions while class is in session.
“We’re just looking for any solution to get the phone out of the hands of the kids when they’re actually engaging in learning,” Watertown High School Principal Joel Giacobozzi said.
The school’s previous cellphone policy required students to put their phones in pouches at the start of class; Giacobozzi said this is a compromise, as the app allows for students to access approved apps and other features on their cell phones chosen by teachers, and those allowed apps can vary from classroom to classroom.
“This allows the student to keep the device but it’s just, for lack of a better term, it’s bricked for the time that they are in school or in class,” Giacobozzi said.
Catheryn Sasser, parent of a freshman student at the school, said it’s a “really smart step” for Watertown.
“As a parent I really wish cellphones would be banned in schools, but I also understand the desire I have to reach my child,” she said.
The pilot program will last from the second week of school through December.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)