Jericho district marks first day of school for 2025-26 academic year

Hundreds of students streamed into Jericho schools Wednesday for their first day of classes — marking not only the beginning of the 2025-26 school year but also the start of a new state cellphone ban.

In the Jericho school district, officials said previous policy prohibited use of phones in classrooms, but the new statewide regulation now bans cellphone usage throughout the school building, including hallways, the gym and the cafeteria during the school day. 

The “bell-to-bell” ban intends to minimize distraction and protect young people’s mental health. The prohibition does not apply to cellphones that lack internet capability or electronic devices used for learning.

As teenagers stepped off the bus Wednesday morning, staffers reminded them to put away their phones before class.

"We should never see them,” Brian Cummings, Jericho High School's co-principal, told Newsday. "Out of sight, out of mind."

Among the students, there was still some lingering confusion about the edict along with mixed feelings about what it means.

“I think it's just a little bit inconvenient to a lot of students that have already adapted to a more digital world since COVID, and it's just like kind of reverting back,” said Emma Zhu, 16, a senior.

But Dev Lakhani, 17, was excited to see a cellphone-free environment.

“I think it's going to be good. Now we're going to spend more time actually paying attention in class. Everyone who needs to talk to their parents or contact someone has an opportunity to do so at a guidance counselor,” said Lakhani, a senior.

New leadership

Another change for the district’s 3,200 students this academic year is the new superintendent of schools, Robert Kravitz, who took over in July after Hank Grishman retired. Kravitz brings more than 20 years’ experience as an educator, most recently having served as superintendent in Fort Lee, New Jersey.

“We just came back from a tour from all of our buildings, and I'm excited to be here. It's a great opportunity for me to work in an environment that really focuses on academic success, and that's what Jericho is,” Kravitz told Newsday.

Jericho’s highly ranked schools routinely rev up earlier than the rest of the Island’s 123 districts. Jericho has 186 instructional days, six more than the state requires, Newsday previously reported.

The Jericho district gets an early start so it can provide more educational opportunities for its students, Kravitz said.

"In order to maintain the vacation days as well as those holidays, we have to start a little earlier," he added.

The first day back wasn't short on school spirit, with Kravitz showing off blue socks with the school logo that were gifted to staffers. Some seniors were also dressed in white as part of an annual ritual. 

"We have like little traditions that we do, like senior 'White-out,' where everyone is wearing white clothes for the first day, and it's super duper fun," added Lakhani. 

Before the sound of the first bell, a flurry of kids scattered to their classes.

"Everyone's filing in, and the buzz is definitely here," Zhu said. 

Cummings said he was up all night anticipating the big return.

"It's fun to see the kids that came back from last year and it's fun to see the new ninth graders ... We have a philosophy, the better connections you have with students, the better the learning will be," he said.