Lesson learned: Warner student phone ban could be a statewide model

Student chatter filled the lunchroom at Warner High School on a recent Wednesday as students downed chicken sandwiches, guzzled chocolate milk and caught up with friends. Outside, middle schoolers tossed around footballs and basketballs. A group of preteen girls gathered around a picnic table; some talked, others drew. There wasn’t a cell phone in sight.

While schools everywhere struggle to wrest students’ attention away from smartphones, Warner Public Schools has held steadfast to its total bell-to-bell ban since 2013.

The year before the ban, Warner’s student test scores were average. Both t...