Disconnecting to Connect with John Kalapos

“…The spread of technology and the instant information of knowing everything all the time and anyone you've ever met being able to reach you at any time, we felt isn't actually valuable for the type of education we're trying to provide here. We think it's important that you can intentionally reach anyone you want to reach, but that communication can and should be intentional. It shouldn't be sort of like my phone buzzes, I look down. Oh, my friend from home wants to talk to me about something totally irrelevant to the awesome thing that's happening in front of me right now..”

France did this back in 2019…why can’t we? Buxton School, a co-ed boarding school in Williamstown, MA, introduced the 2022-23 academic year with a new smartphone policy: No smartphones allowed. After the Wall Street Journal spotlighted the impact of this policy on campus life, Nat sat down with Associate Head of School John Kalapos, to speak about the relational impact on all members of the Buxton community. What resulted is an instructive case study on the decision to eliminate the influence of smartphones in the classroom and on campus - 24/7 - at a boarding school.

John Kalapos is the Associate Head of School at Buxton School. John graduated from Buxton in 2013 and went on to attend Pitzer College. Between Pitzer and returning to Buxton in 2019, John worked in community organizing. When not in the classroom, you can find him on the back of a fire truck, romping in the woods with his dog, or perfecting his chocolate chip cookie recipe. People should feel free to reach John at John.Kalapos@Buxtonschool.org.