Students at all City School District of Albany secondary schools will continue using storage cases for cell phones and other personal electronic devices for the full school day this year as we remain aligned with the statewide commitment to creating a focused and distraction-free learning environment in all schools.
Cell phone procedures will remain largely the same as they were in 2025-26 at all of our schools. The primary change will be transitioning from last year's Yondr pouches to a new, larger, clear storage case at all three middle schools and Albany High School.
Students in grades 6-12 in the Newcomer Program at Albany International Academy will continue to use Yondr pouches. Students at Tony Clement Center for Education will continue to use the system that has been part of their regular practice during the school day.
There are no changes planned to our cell phone protocols at the elementary level. Each building will communicate those procedures to students and families when the new year begins.
Albany High and Albany International Academy (grades 6-12)
Students will receive their storage case on the first day of school, and will keep it throughout their high school career, taking it home and bringing it back to school each day.
The case will be locked when students enter school and remain in their possession throughout the school day with the phone turned off.
At the end of the school day, the storage case will be unlocked so students can retrieve their devices.
Students who arrive without their case will have their phone collected at the start of the day to be stored in a secure location until dismissal.
- At Albany High, they can report to their academy office to pick it up at the end of the day.
- At the Newcomer Program, they can report to the main office to pick it up.
Watch for more information from school with additional details about cell phone procedures.
Hackett, Myers and North Albany middle schools
Students at all three middle schools also will be assigned a new storage case at the start of the school year.
The case will be locked and remain in the student’s possession throughout the school day with the phone turned off. At the end of the school day, the storage case will be unlocked so students can retrieve their devices. The cases will be collected before students leave each day, and students then will pick up their assigned case the next morning when they get to school.
Each middle school will review these procedures with students and families at the transition camp activities during the week of Aug. 24. You can visit your school’s page for more information about the daytime camps for students, and the evening events for families.