This elementary school banned screens in the middle of the year. Will it solve their reading crisis?

Friday, May 8, 2026Lily Altavena, ChalkbeatView original

When it comes to the ban on screens, school leaders think it’s much easier to teach students technology skills than social skills.

Last month, Mesick Consolidated Schools banned digital devices in its elementary school of about 250 students. The decision wasn’t an agonizing one. The ban came at astonishing speed, almost overnight, after a conversation between Mesick Superintendent Jack Ledford and Jewett Principal Elizabeth Kastl.