Colorado phone-free implementation community · Call № 1
A working community for the superintendents, principals, district leaders, board members, and teachers turning Colorado's phone-free policies into a smooth first day, and a better school year.
Why this call exists
Under HB25-1135, every Colorado district adopted a cell phone policy by July 1. Writing the policy was the easy part. Storage, enforcement, teacher workload, parent communication, open lunch: that's the work of this fall.
The good news is that none of it is new. Schools across Colorado and the country have already done this, and the leaders who went first say the same thing: the most useful resource wasn't a memo, it was talking to other leaders about what they got right and what they got wrong.
So that's what this is. A community of practice that meets monthly through the school year. We bring the people who've done it, you bring your questions, and we solve the sticky parts together. We're asking for your help as much as offering ours.
The agenda
Short talks up front, and the biggest block saved for you. Educators like to talk shop, so more than a third of the hour is open conversation.
Welcome, and why we're all gathering.
A walk through Stand for Children's implementation guide and toolkit library: storage options that work, sample parent and teacher letters, and policies you can edit instead of write.
The national organization behind the Administrator Toolkit introduces themselves and the resource, with implementation experience across states from New York to Texas.
Boulder Valley has the longest history of operating bell-to-bell in Colorado. How they prepared schools, staff, students, and families for day one.
A teacher from a school that already runs phone-free days: what enforcement looks like, and what support from leadership actually helps.
Your questions, your sticking points, your ideas. Enforcement, open lunch, family communication, whatever's keeping you up at night. What we can't answer live, we take away and work on for you.
The monthly cadence, how to reach the community between calls, and what we'll dig into in September.
Speakers
Krista has led Stand's Colorado work since 2013, from fully funded full-day kindergarten to the READ Act. Her team built the implementation guide this call is anchored on, drawn from conversations with school leaders who've already gone phone-free, and she runs Stand's webinar series for Colorado educators.
Boulder Valley moved to bell-to-bell before the state required a policy at all. A BVSD leader joins to share how the district readied its buildings, its teachers, and its families.
The view from the front of the room: what enforcement really looks like, how students came around, and what changed about teaching once the phones went away.
Resources
Two guides worth a look before the call. You'll be editing, not writing. The library grows as the community shares what works.
The practical guide this call is built on: a step-by-step path for educators and leaders taking a phone-free policy from adopted to in place. The through-line for the whole series.
The full administrator playbook: rollout timeline, model policy, research one-pagers, and ready-to-send letters, FAQs, and surveys for staff, parents, and students.
Beyond August 5
The first call kicks off a community of practice that runs all school year. It grows around whatever you're running into.
Hosts & partners
The Colorado organizations that helped pass these policies, alongside the national movement whose toolkit anchors the work, all showing up for the harder part.
Parent and educator advocacy for Colorado students since 2010. Stand's national team wrote the implementation guide at the center of this series and hosts the webinar platform.
The Colorado campaign for bell-to-bell phone-free schools, run by parents, educators, and health nonprofits. UP tracks policy in all 178 districts and connects communities doing this work.
The national organization behind the Administrator Toolkit, with implementation experience across states from New York to Texas. They join Colorado's calls and run a free nationwide community where administrators compare notes.
RSVP takes 30 seconds and the meeting link comes back instantly. Bring your questions and your sticking points; the hour is built around what you actually need.