It is time to highlight the outstanding leadership coming from our school district. The superintendent, Lyndsay Huntsman, and her team have decided to officially implement the Yondr pouch system to effectively ban cell phones from the classroom, starting this coming school year.
As an Air Force veteran, I often found the best leaders were those who had a strong internal compass, and despite external pressure and distraction continued to lead their men and women in the direction they knew was right.
As an officer, I found that more often than not, leading in this way was difficult and uncomfortable. Laissez-faire is easy — don’t ruffle feathers and go with the flow. Standing up for what’s right, however, can be very challenging — especially if it’s not popular.
Lyndsay Huntsman and Caleb Fine both seem to have that strong internal compass that is undoubtedly pointing this school district straight and true. And although banning phones in school seems like an obvious course of action (to me at least), it certainly has not been, and will not be, easy.
Years of thought, several community town halls and countless hours of preparation will only lead to a body of students who hate them (at first) and an angry mob of parents right behind. However, the internal compass continues to guide, and I will gladly follow.
Thank you both for being bold and standing up for the development of our children. We will look back on this one day as one of the greatest reformations in public education.
Brian George
Park City