The Browning School
2026–2027
A Browning Family Guide
Digital Life
at Browning

Technology is most powerful when it deepens what makes us human — curiosity, dialogue, and connection. This guide describes how Browning approaches technology and digital life at every stage of a boy's education, and how families can partner with us.

Developed Collaboratively with AI Task Force  ·  Reclaiming Focus Initiative  ·  Collaborative Learning Cohort Student Support  ·  Wellness  ·  College Guidance  ·  Library Staff  ·  PA Committee on Screentime
focus.browning.edu 2026–2027
Our Approach
About Reclaiming Focus

Reclaiming Focus: Building Attention in an Age of Distraction is Browning's ongoing community initiative studying how screen time, attention, and digital life shape boys' learning and well-being. It began with a 360° study of student screen time across all three divisions and continues through community conversations, faculty development, and this guide.

The Central Commitment

Attention.

We define it as the disciplined act of being fully present and open to the world around us — without distraction or isolation. It is the capacity that makes all learning possible: the ability to read deeply, to listen carefully, to think without rushing, to sit with a hard question long enough for something real to emerge.

Attention is also the capacity most under threat. The devices, platforms, and algorithms that surround our students are designed — with extraordinary sophistication — to capture and fragment it. We take that seriously.

Our Ongoing Commitment

The Reclaiming Focus Initiative is not a one-time study. It is Browning's ongoing commitment to treating attention as a school-wide systems problem — and to building a school where boys learn to think deeply, be present fully, and act with intention.

We are studying how attention develops across boyhood, auditing how screens are used in our classrooms, designing school-wide defaults that protect attentional capacity, and partnering with families to create consistent norms at home and at school. We measure what works. We report what we find. We improve every year.

Reclaiming Focus is not anti-technology.
It is pro-human learning.

AI will shape the future our students inherit — but focus, discernment, and inquiry shape how it's used. Students need time and space for curiosity, discussion, storytelling, reflection, and in-person learning. These human skills are what allow technology to amplify learning, rather than fragment it.

At Browning, we don't believe any single tool is always the right one. A pencil and paper, a conversation, a whiteboard, a book, and an AI model each have a place in a student's education. Our job is to know the difference — and to teach our students to know it, too.

Its findings confirmed what we already believed: our community is ready to talk, and eager to build practical alternatives. Families are not asking us to solve home life. They are asking for partnership and better defaults.

Browning has made deliberate choices about which AI tools are used, by whom, and at what grade level. Those decisions are grounded in our central commitment to protecting attention. Details on supported platforms are available for faculty and staff through the Technology office.

"Not all screen time is the same. Watching a show with your son builds connection. Scrolling TikTok alone at midnight fragments attention, identity, and belonging. Our job is to know the difference and to help boys know it too."

— Aaron Grill, Director of Innovation and Technology
From the Reclaiming Focus Initiative — 2026–27
194 Student survey respondents
91% Faculty: well-designed non-screen activities improve focus
3 Divisions studied — with parent, student, and faculty input

Data sources: Student survey (194), parent survey (55), faculty survey (35), advisory discussions, and parent coffees across all three divisions.

About This Guide

Digital Life at Browning grows from a genuine community effort. It was shaped by the AI Task Force — a board committee that established Browning's philosophy and platform decisions around artificial intelligence. Details on supported platforms and faculty expectations are available through the Technology office. This guide is grounded in Reclaiming Focus: Building Attention in an Age of Distraction, a Browning community initiative and ongoing practice of listening, learning, and building better defaults together. It began with a 360° study of student screen time across all three divisions and continues through community conversations, faculty development, and this guide.

The content has been reviewed and informed by Browning's Student Support Team, Wellness Team, College Guidance, Library Staff, and the Parents Association Committee on Screentime — the people who see our students most clearly and know what families actually need. It is produced by the Collaborative Learning Cohort, a faculty professional development program in which teachers collaborate across disciplines to deepen their practice and develop curriculum, led by Danielle Passno alongside Aaron Grill.

This guide will be updated annually as our community continues to learn.

A Framework for Families

Connecting Screens vs. Isolating Screens

Not all screen time pulls attention in the same direction. A boy watching a film with his father is sharing an experience — his attention anchored by presence and story, his nervous system synchronizing with another person's. A boy gaming alone at midnight is in a loop engineered to prevent him from stopping. Both involve a screen. Only one involves another human being.

Attention is not just the capacity to focus — it is the capacity to be present with someone. The question we ask at Browning is not how many hours, but whether the screen is pulling a boy toward connection or away from it. Research from Dartmouth (Nature Communications, 2023) found that people watching TV together show measurable physiological and emotional synchronization — the same bonding response as shared conversation. Isolating screen use, by contrast, is associated with anxiety, withdrawal, and reduced family cohesion.

From the Reclaiming Focus Study

Students and parents experience screentime differently.

Average ratings on a 1–5 scale (low → high) across 194 students and 55 parents. Students see more connection potential. Parents see more isolation risk. This gap is where shared language matters most.

Strengthens relationships & learning

3.5
STUDENTS
2.4
PARENTS

Leads to isolation & disconnection

2.4
STUDENTS
3.4
PARENTS

1–5 scale (low → high)  ·  Reclaiming Focus Initiative 2026–2027  ·  n=194 students, n=55 parents

Students

Rate screens as more likely to strengthen relationships and learning. They see connection potential where parents see risk.

Parents

Rate screens as more likely to lead to isolation and disconnection. They see isolation risk where students see connection.

✓ Connecting Screens
Watching a film or series together on the TV in a shared space
Video calling with family — grandparents, relatives, friends far away
Cooperative gaming with a friend physically present in the room
Creating something — a video, a project, a piece of music — with intention
Research that grows curiosity and generates real questions
A show chosen deliberately — not selected by an algorithm
Something that produces conversation afterward
✗ Isolating Screens
Competitive online gaming alone late at night
Scrolling a social media feed without a stopping point
Watching content algorithmically selected — YouTube autoplay, TikTok FYP
Retreating to a bedroom with a device rather than toward people
Group chats that produce anxiety and conflict rather than belonging
Using AI to avoid thinking rather than to think better
Screen use that produces irritability, withdrawal, or dread when stopped
The Family Audit — Four Questions
01Do you have a shared screen experience your family returns to regularly — a series, a film night, something you choose together?
02Does screen use happen in shared spaces or in bedrooms? Where the screen lives matters more than the content on it.
03Does your son have a passion-driven activity — robotics, rocketry, building, making — that competes with solo gaming on its own terms?
04After a screen experience, is he more connected to people or less? More curious or more agitated? The answer tells you almost everything.

Right Tool, Right Time

At Browning, we don't believe any single tool is always the right one. A pencil and paper, a conversation, a whiteboard, a book, and an AI model each have a place in a student's education. Our job as educators — and your job as parents — is to know the difference, and to teach our students to know it, too. Some work happens without screens. Some conversations happen without devices. Some of the best thinking starts with a blank page and a good question.

Pencil & Paper Best for drafting, note-taking, math, diagramming, and moments that require focus without distraction.
Conversation For processing ideas, working through problems, and the kind of dialogue that sharpens thinking.
Digital Tools For research, collaboration, presentation, and creation — when the task calls for them specifically.
AI For scaffolding curiosity, asking better questions, and exploring ideas — with full transparency and honesty.
Learning in Focus

The Core Four

Browning's academic approach is organized around four practices that develop the whole learner. These appear as badges throughout this guide to show which skills are most emphasized at each grade level.

01 Connection Building meaningful relationships through shared inquiry, empathy, and community — the foundation of all learning at Browning.
02 Dialogue Honest conversation that builds shared meaning — across ideas, identities, and perspectives.
03 Storytelling Communicating with clarity through the public expression of experience and ideas.
04 Studentship The discipline of learning how to learn — through inquiry, research, honesty, and purpose.

K–12 Digital Life Themes

R
Attention & Focus Protecting the capacity to be fully present — the foundation of all learning.
S
Connection & Community Understanding when screens connect us and when they isolate us.
D
Integrity & Honesty Representing our work truthfully — including our use of AI tools.
St
Identity & Judgment Understanding who we are online — and who we are becoming.
Right Tool, Right Time

No single tool is always right. Pencil and paper, conversation, books, and AI each have a place in a Browning education. Our job — and yours — is to help boys know the difference.

Resources for Families

Building Healthy Habits at Home

Families are not asking us to solve home life — they are asking for partnership and better defaults. The structures below are drawn from Reclaiming Focus research and family feedback. They are suggestions, not requirements. The goal is shared language and shared systems.

Family Technology Plan

  • Where do devices charge at night? (Outside bedrooms.)
  • What are screen-free times in our home?
  • What platforms is my son on, and do I follow him?
  • What group chats is he in?
  • When does he earn more independence with devices?
  • Revisit this plan each year as your son grows.

Group Chat Guidance

  • Know which group chats your son is in
  • Talk about what "digital dignity" means in group settings
  • Discuss what to do when a chat goes in a bad direction
  • Consider no group chats before Grade 8
  • Review Browning's community standards with your son
  • The "would I say this in person?" test still works
Browning Community Partner Thumbs Down. Speak Up. — Browning's partner for tween online readiness. Three skills for every boy: Pause before posting, Reach out to a trusted adult, Move communication offline. tdsu.org →

Device Routines That Work

  • Phone charging outside bedrooms — for everyone
  • Screen-free meals as a family norm
  • Device use in common spaces, not bedrooms
  • Evening collection as a default, not a punishment
  • Apple Screen Time and Google Family Link for younger students
  • Consistent weekday and weekend routines

Talking About AI

  • Ask your son: "Did AI help with that? How?"
  • Discuss what AI is good at — and what it can't do
  • Model honest disclosure: "I used AI to help draft this"
  • Talk about AI-generated content and why it requires skepticism
  • Celebrate original thinking — stories only he can tell
  • Connect Browning's expectations to your home values
Digital Life Snapshot · Lower School
Grades K–2
Foundations of Attention & Curiosity Hot Topics for K–2 →
R
S
D
St
Core Focus: Attention & Focus
Active This Level Attention & Focus Protecting the capacity to be fully present — the foundation of all learning.
Not primary focus Connection & Community Understanding when screens connect us and when they isolate us.
Not primary focus Integrity & Honesty Representing our work truthfully — including our use of AI tools.
Not primary focus Identity & Judgment Understanding who we are online — and who we are becoming.
Grade Goals

Learning begins with attention — and attention is built long before a screen appears.

The early years are the most critical time for developing imagination, language, social skills, and the capacity for sustained focus. These capabilities are cultivated through conversation, play, hands-on experience, and the steady presence of caring adults — not through screens. Technology, when it appears in K–2, is purposeful, brief, and teacher-directed.

At Browning, we believe a Kindergartener who has learned to sit with a question, wrestle with an idea, or listen to a peer is already developing the most important skills he will need — including the skills to use AI well, years from now.

◉ On Attention Attention is the first skill — and it's built before a screen ever appears. Before a boy can learn to read, research, or reason well, he must first learn to be present. Every quiet moment, every question held without a quick answer, every face-to-face conversation builds the neural pathways that make all later learning possible. At this stage, protecting attention isn't a policy. It's the whole point.
Key Objectives
Handle shared classroom devices responsibly and with care
Understand that technology has a purpose — it has a job to do
Default to play, conversation, and books as the first choice
Ask questions out loud — curiosity is collaborative, not solitary
Practice sitting with a question before seeking an answer
Begin to understand how images and videos are made
Family Engagement
Browning Tech Talk Series — grade-level family coffees
Develop a Family Technology Plan with your son
Reclaiming Focus community discussion series
Screen Alternatives Kit — classroom free-time activities
📱 Devices at School
Shared iPadsClassroom Sets
  • No 1:1 personal devices
  • Teacher-supervised use only
  • Phones: not permitted
🤖 AI at Browning Not Yet No independent AI use. Age-appropriate concepts may be introduced through teacher-led discussion only.
📋 School Policy
Personal devices off & stored all day
All technology use is supervised
No independent AI use
Screen-light day by design
👨‍👩‍👦 Parent Recommendations Source: Common Sense Media
📱 Phones
No smartphones at this age. If communication is needed, a basic call-only device is sufficient. Nearly 1 in 4 children have a personal cellphone by age 8 — most experts say wait.
Shared family devices in common spaces are preferable to personal devices for young children.
⏱ Screen Time
Under 18 months: video chat only. Ages 2–5: limit to 1 hour/day high-quality content. Ages 6–8: aim for under 2 hours recreational screen time. Kids 5–8 average 3h38m — well over recommended.
Screen-free meals, mornings, and bedtimes are the highest-leverage habits to establish now.
📲 Social Media
Not appropriate at this age. All major platforms require users to be 13 or older — no exceptions.
If your son encounters social content, use it as a conversation starter rather than a crisis.
Additional Guidance
Prioritize offline, cooperative play
Model healthy screen habits yourself
Device use in common spaces only
Screen-free bedtime routines
🔥 Hot Topics for this age group

📱 When is a screen too early?

The AAP recommends no screens beyond video chat before age 2, and limited high-quality content for ages 2–5. Neural pathways for sustained attention are built through play and conversation — not screens.

AAP Screen Time Guidelines; NIMH Brain Development Research

🧠 Attention as a skill

Attention is not fixed — it's a capacity built through practice. Every time a child sits with a question before getting an answer, that capacity grows. Screen-light early childhood builds the focus that makes all later learning possible.

Reclaiming Focus Initiative, 2025–26; Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation

🎮 Not all screen time is equal

Cooperative games requiring verbal communication differ meaningfully from solo passive content. Key questions: Is your son talking to someone? Does he choose screens when offline options are available? Can he stop when asked?

Common Sense Media, Media Balance & Well-Being Research

🤖 "What is AI?" — age-appropriate

K–2 students already encounter AI-generated content in videos and games. Start simply: "A computer made that picture." Curiosity is the goal, not anxiety.

Common Sense Media Digital Literacy Curriculum, K–2
Conversation starters
TRY"What's something you've been wondering about lately?"
TRY"What do you like to do when there's nothing to do?"
TRY"What would you do if the internet stopped working for a whole day?"
Resources
Book
The Anxious Generation — Jonathan Haidt (2024)The research foundation for Browning's Reclaiming Focus work. Chapters 1–3 most relevant for K–2 families.
Website
Common Sense Media — commonsense.orgAge-based ratings, family guides, and digital citizenship resources for every app and platform.
Browning
Screen Alternatives Kit (Megan Ryan)Every Browning classroom has physical free-time alternatives to screens. Ask your son what games are available.
Family Media Agreement · Grades K–2 Review and sign together · Revisit each year
📱 Take Care
I will be gentle with shared classroom devices and tell a grown-up if something breaks
I know devices in our home belong to our family, not just to me
I will put devices back where they belong when I'm done
🔒 Stay Safe
I will only use the internet when a parent or teacher is nearby
I will not share my name, photo, or address with anyone online
I will tell a grown-up right away if something I see online scares me or makes me feel weird
I know some things online are not real — I will ask a grown-up to help me understand
💭 Think First
I will not say anything online that I wouldn't say to someone's face
I know that things on the internet can be made up — not everything is true
I understand that AI makes pictures, videos, and voices that aren't real
⚖️ Stay Balanced
When the screen time is over, I will stop without a big fight
I will play outside, read, draw, or use my imagination every day
I will not use a device first thing in the morning or right before bed
Screens stay in shared spaces — not in my bedroom
💬 Communicate Openly
I will tell a parent what I watched or played on a screen
I will ask before using any device
If anything online makes me feel upset or confused, I will tell a grown-up
🔗 Connecting Screen Commitment
We will watch one show or film together as a family each week — chosen by all of us
Screen time in our house is something we do together, not alone in a room
After we watch something together, we'll talk about it
In exchange, our family agrees to:
To watch with him as often as we can
To make sure he has plenty of non-screen options he loves — toys, games, outdoor time
To put our own phones away during meals and playtime
To keep screens in shared spaces — not in his bedroom
To talk with him about what he sees online rather than panic
To model the screen habits we want him to build
Isolating screen warning signs — watch for these
⚠ He reaches for a screen every time he is bored or upset — it has become his emotion regulator
⚠ He chooses screens over play or people when given a free choice
⚠ He cannot stop without a major meltdown
⚠ He is watching others play games rather than playing himself
Student signature & date
Parent / Guardian signature & date
Revisit: Each September and any time a new device enters the home
Framework: Common Sense Media · Browning Reclaiming Focus Initiative
Digital Life Snapshot · Lower School
Grades 3–5
Building Research Habits & Media Literacy Hot Topics for 3–5 →
R
S
D
St
Core Focus: Connection + Integrity
Active This Level Attention & Focus Protecting the capacity to be fully present — the foundation of all learning.
Not primary focus Connection & Community Understanding when screens connect us and when they isolate us.
Active This Level Integrity & Honesty Representing our work truthfully — including our use of AI tools.
Not primary focus Identity & Judgment Understanding who we are online — and who we are becoming.
Grade Goals

Boys learn to ask better questions — and to evaluate the answers they find.

In grades 3 through 5, students begin developing the habits that distinguish a researcher from a passive consumer of information: skepticism, source evaluation, and organized thinking. Technology serves these goals when chosen intentionally — and pencils, notebooks, and books remain essential tools alongside it.

This is also the period when AI enters the conversation as a concept. Students don't use AI independently, but they begin to understand what it is, how it works, and why thinking critically about it matters. The goal is curiosity — not anxiety or uncritical acceptance.

◉ On Attention This is when the attention economy finds your son. Apps and platforms are engineered to capture and hold attention — using the same psychological mechanisms that make games compelling and feeds endless. The single most important thing we can teach a 4th or 5th grader isn't how to use technology. It's how to notice when technology is using him — and how to put it down.
Key Objectives
Introduction to research skills and source evaluation
Keyboarding foundations and basic digital organization
Understanding AI as a concept: what it is and isn't
Distinguishing reliable from unreliable information
Respectful online and offline communication basics
Digital citizenship: privacy, consent, and community norms
Strategies to build focus and manage digital distraction
Understanding deepfakes, AI-generated content, and scams
Family Engagement
Browning Tech Talk Series — grade-level family coffees
Family Technology Plan: revisit annually with your son
Discuss what your son saw, made, or wondered about online
Reclaiming Focus panels & speakers — open to all families
📱 Devices at School
Classroom SetsSupervised
  • No 1:1 personal devices
  • Teacher-directed use only
  • Limited take-home for specific assignments
  • Phones: off and stored
🤖 AI at Browning Conceptual Introduction No independent use. AI introduced as a concept through teacher-led discussion and media literacy lessons.
📋 School Policy
Personal devices off & stored
Technology use is teacher-directed
AI use: not permitted independently
Academic integrity expectations begin here
👨‍👩‍👦 Parent Recommendations Source: Common Sense Media
📱 Phones
Delay smartphone introduction as long as possible. 42% of kids have a phone by age 10. CSM and child development experts recommend waiting — a basic call/text device is sufficient if safety communication is needed.
Consider the Wait Until 8th pledge at waituntil8th.org — works best when families in your son's grade decide together.
⏱ Screen Time
Aim for under 2 hours of recreational screen time per day. Tweens ages 8–12 average 5.5 hours — significantly above what research supports for healthy development at this stage.
Focus on quality over quantity: Is this content educational, creative, or social? Passive scrolling and solo gaming are different from creative or collaborative screen use.
📲 Social Media
Not appropriate. Platforms require age 13. Even "educational" platforms carry risks. If your son encounters social content, discuss it together rather than ignoring it.
CSM recommends delaying social media as long as possible — ideally until high school. No independent AI use before Grade 8.
Additional Guidance
Charge devices outside bedrooms — start this habit now
Gaming: prioritize cooperative and offline play
Discuss what you encounter online together
Connect with other Browning families to build shared norms
🔥 Hot Topics for this age group

🔍 "Is this real?" — Media literacy

By 3rd grade most boys have encountered AI-generated images or misleading content. Teaching healthy skepticism — "Who made this? Why? How do I know?" — is the foundation of every research skill they'll use for life.

Common Sense Media Digital Literacy Curriculum, Grade 2–3

🤖 Deepfakes and AI-generated content

AI tools can now generate photos, voices, and videos of real people. Third graders encounter these without knowing it. Start with fun examples: "Not everything you see was made by a human."

Common Sense Media; MIT Media Lab on AI literacy for youth

📱 The smartphone conversation

4th and 5th grade is when smartphone pressure peaks. Research supports delaying introduction as long as possible. The Wait Until 8th pledge works when families in a grade agree together.

Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation; waituntil8th.org

🎯 Algorithms and attention

By 4th grade boys can understand: apps are designed to keep you watching. Teaching boys to notice when they've "lost time" on a screen is a precursor to self-regulation.

Center for Humane Technology; Common Sense Media

💬 Group chat entry points

Many 4th and 5th grade boys enter group chats for the first time. Browning recommends no peer group texting before Grade 8. The social pressure is real — but developmental readiness isn't yet there.

AAP, "Group Chats and Middle Schoolers"; Browning Reclaiming Focus Initiative 2025–26

🔒 Privacy and digital citizenship

This is when boys first create accounts, share photos, and communicate digitally. Key concepts: personal vs. private information, passwords, what "public" means, and how to handle receiving something uncomfortable.

Common Sense Media Privacy & Security curriculum
Conversation starters
TRY"If you saw a shocking photo online, what would you do before sharing it?"
TRY"When you're watching YouTube, who decides what plays next — you or the app?"
TRY"If you could change one rule about screens in our house, what would it be and why?"
Resources
Essential
Wait Until 8th — waituntil8th.orgResearch-backed pledge to delay smartphones until 8th grade. Works best when organized by grade with other families.
Guide
Common Sense Media Family Resources — commonsense.org/education/family-resourcesGrade-specific tip sheets, workshop materials, and conversation guides. Free.
Browning
Tech Talk Series — Grade-Level CoffeesBest place to align on shared norms with other families in your son's class.
Family Media Agreement · Grades 3–5 Review and sign together · Revisit each year
📱 Take Care
I will take care of classroom and family devices and report anything broken or lost
I understand devices belong to the family unless I paid for them myself
I will not download apps or change settings without permission
🔒 Stay Safe
I will not create accounts without my family's permission
I will not share my full name, address, school name, or photos without permission
I will not share my passwords with anyone except a parent
I will tell a parent immediately if anyone makes me feel pressured or uncomfortable online
I know some people online pretend to be someone they're not
💭 Think First
Before I share anything online, I will ask: would I be okay if everyone I know saw this?
I will not spread rumors, gossip, or mean content about anyone online
I know that not everything I read or see online is true — I will check before I believe it
I understand AI can create fake photos, videos, and voices of real people
I will give credit when I use someone else's work or ideas
⚖️ Stay Balanced
I will help my family set screen time limits and then follow them
I will not use screens in my bedroom
I will choose what I watch — not let YouTube or another app choose for me
I will have at least one hour of physical activity or outdoor time each day
Devices charge outside my bedroom every night
💬 Communicate Openly
I will tell my parents what apps, games, and websites I use
I will tell a parent if I see something online that upsets me or doesn't seem right
I will be honest about how much time I've spent on screens
🔗 Connecting Screen Commitment
We will pick a film or show together at least once a week and watch it as a family
I will not use a device when we're eating together as a family
When I game, I will prefer games I can play with a friend or family member in the room
In exchange, our family agrees to:
To listen to what interests him online and engage with his world rather than dismiss it
To talk with him about our concerns before saying no
To help him find shows, games, and content that are worth his time
To keep devices in shared spaces and charge them outside bedrooms for everyone
To model the screen habits we want him to have
To take media literacy seriously — help him question what he sees online
To use Apple Screen Time or Google Family Link to support healthy defaults
Isolating screen warning signs — watch for these
⚠ He is watching other people play games (YouTube gaming, Twitch) instead of playing himself
⚠ He is watching for long periods without choosing what comes next
⚠ He reaches for a screen immediately after school or whenever he has free time
⚠ He is reluctant to stop and becomes irritable when asked to
Student signature & date
Parent / Guardian signature & date
Revisit: September and February each year
Framework: Common Sense Media · Browning Reclaiming Focus Initiative
Digital Life Snapshot · Middle School
Grades 6–8
Developing Responsibility & Digital Judgment Hot Topics for 6–8 →
R
S
D
St
Core Focus: Connection + Dialogue + Integrity
Active This Level Attention & Focus Protecting the capacity to be fully present — the foundation of all learning.
Active This Level Connection & Community Understanding when screens connect us and when they isolate us.
Active This Level Integrity & Honesty Representing our work truthfully — including our use of AI tools.
Not primary focus Identity & Judgment Understanding who we are online — and who we are becoming.
Grade Goals

The years when independence expands faster than self-regulation — and structure matters most.

Middle school boys are seeking autonomy while their executive function is still developing. This gap is where habits form — for better or worse. Technology at this stage is structured and purposeful. Browning's use of ReMarkable tablets in the Middle School replaces 1:1 laptops, reducing distraction while preserving the digital utility students need for serious academic work.

AI enters academic life here — cautiously and with clear expectations. Boys learn what AI can and cannot do, how to disclose and cite its use, and why original thinking still matters. Reclaiming Focus data shows that students themselves prefer real connection and meaningful work — they're asking us to provide alternatives to screens. This is our answer.

◉ On Attention Middle school is where attention habits form — and where they are most under siege. The prefrontal cortex, responsible for focus, impulse control, and self-regulation, won't fully develop until the mid-twenties. Boys at this stage genuinely cannot resist a notification the way an adult can. Browning's shift from 1:1 devices to shared classroom Chromebooks isn't a restriction. It's a structural decision to protect the attention that makes learning possible.
Key Objectives
Research skills and academic source evaluation
AI literacy: capabilities, limitations, and honest use
Academic integrity and citation of all sources, including AI
Managing digital distraction and building focus habits
Group chat dynamics and responsible online communication
Digital organization and independent workflow
Exploring AI's impact on society and relationships
Preparation for Upper School independence
Family Engagement
Tech Talk Series — grade-level coffees and group chat guidance
Reclaiming Focus family panels and speaker series
Revisit your Family Technology Plan with your son
8th grade: transition conversations with Upper School families
📱 Devices at School
Classroom Chromebooks
  • Shared sets — intentionally not 1:1
  • Supports attention and shared norms
  • Phones: off and stored all day
  • No personal laptops at school
🤖 AI at Browning Supervised Introduction AI may be used for brainstorming and research with explicit teacher permission. All use must be disclosed and cited. No AI-generated work submitted as your own.
📋 School Policy
Phones off & stored — full school day
AI use requires teacher approval and citation
Academic integrity policy fully applies
👨‍👩‍👦 Parent Recommendations Source: Common Sense Media
📱 Phones
Experts recommend waiting until at least 8th grade for a smartphone. By age 12, 71% of kids have a phone — but early introduction is linked to increased anxiety. If your son has one, parental controls and evening collection are strongly recommended.
Charging phones outside the bedroom at night is the single most impactful routine. Make it a household norm, not a punishment.
⏱ Screen Time
Tweens and early teens average 5.5–7 hours of non-school screen time daily. CSM recommends a family media plan with consistent limits — especially around gaming and late-night use. Device-free sleep is non-negotiable.
Late-night gaming is the most common disruptor at this age. Set consistent device routines before 7th grade when social pressure peaks.
📲 Social Media
Age 13 is the legal minimum for most platforms. CSM recommends delaying as long as possible. If introduced: one platform only, follow your son's account, review privacy settings together. No peer group texting before Grade 8.
If your son is on social media: check in regularly, know which group chats he's in, and keep the conversation open about what he's seeing.
Additional Guidance
Know what group chats your son is in
Discuss "digital dignity" in group settings
Connect with other Browning families — shared norms work better than individual rules
Discuss the group chat guide: "Take it off the phone, wait until morning, leave don't lurk"
Partner
Thumbs Down. Speak Up. (TDSU) — tdsu.orgBrowning's community partner for tween online readiness. Specifically designed for this age group — activities and conversation starters that build the skills boys need before they're online independently. Free Family Toolkit at tdsu.org/family-toolkit
🔥 Hot Topics for this age group

💬 Group chats — the #1 issue

Exclusion, jokes that cross lines, racism, misogyny, and bias all happen in group chats — and spill into classrooms. Screenshots escalate conflict. Parents who see partial threads become involved in ways that prolong harm.

Browning Reclaiming Focus Initiative; Cyberbullying Research Center 2023 (55% lifetime experience)

🤖 AI — first real academic encounters

6th–8th grade is when AI moves from concept to tool. Browning's expectation: supervised use with full disclosure. The deeper question: is AI scaffolding curiosity, or replacing it?

Browning AI at Browning policy; Mollick & Mollick, Practical Guide to AI in the Classroom

📲 Social media entry points

Most platforms require age 13 — but many 6th graders are already on them. Browning recommends delaying as long as possible. If introduced: one platform only, with parental follow access.

Jonathan Haidt, The Anxious Generation; AAP social media guidance; Pew Research 2023

😴 Gaming and late-night screens

Gaming at 6–8 often migrates to late at night. Sleep disruption affects mood, academic performance, and impulse control. Charging outside the bedroom is the highest-leverage family intervention.

Haidt, The Anxious Generation; AAP adolescent sleep guidelines; Browning parent survey data

🔍 Boys alone online

Boys are getting answers to questions from AI, TikTok, and Reddit — often late at night, without those questions being validated or challenged. If school isn't the place where curiosity is taken seriously, where does that happen?

Richard Reeves, Of Boys and Men; Browning Reclaiming Focus essay, A. Grill 2025

🧠 Brain development reality

The prefrontal cortex — responsible for impulse control and reading social tone — isn't fully developed until the mid-twenties. A 6th grader genuinely cannot read tone in a text the way an adult can. This is developmental, not a character flaw.

NIMH Teen Brain Research; NIH Prefrontal Cortex Development studies
Shared language — for students and families
📵"Take it off the phone" — conflict that starts in a chat needs to finish in person
📸"Screenshot = escalation" — sharing screenshots almost always makes conflict worse
🌙"Wait until morning" — most chat crises look different after sleep
🚪"Leave, don't lurk" — leaving a toxic chat is braver than staying silent
🔧"Repair is possible" — the goal is restoration, not punishment
Conversation starters
TRY"What group chats are you in? What are they for?"
TRY"If something went wrong in a chat tonight, what would you do first?"
TRY"Have you used AI for homework? Did you tell your teacher?"
Resources
Essential
Cyberbullying Research Center — cyberbullying.orgThe most rigorous ongoing research on group chat conflict. 2023: 55% of students reported lifetime cyberbullying experience.
Book
The Anxious Generation — Jonathan Haidt (2024)Chapters 5–8 most relevant for middle school families. Evidence-based case for phone-free schools and delayed social media.
Book
Of Boys and Men — Richard Reeves (2022)Why boys withdraw when they fear judgment, and why relationships and dialogue unlock boys' learning.
Browning
Tech Talk Series — Group Chat Coffees (Grades 6–8)Grade-level coffees addressing group chat norms. Most effective when a critical mass of families attend together.
Family Media Agreement · Grades 6–8 Review and sign together · Revisit each year
📱 Take Care
I will take care of school and personal devices and report anything lost, broken, or stolen
I understand my school Chromebook belongs to Browning and must be returned in good condition
I will not modify school devices, install unauthorized apps, or attempt to bypass GoGuardian
🔒 Stay Safe
I will not share passwords with friends — only with a parent if necessary
I will use privacy settings on any accounts I have and review them with a parent
I will tell a trusted adult immediately if anyone contacts me in a way that feels wrong
I will not share other people's private photos, screenshots, or messages without permission
I will not join group chats I haven't agreed to be part of
💭 Think First
Before posting anything, I will ask: would I be okay if a teacher, college, or employer saw this?
I will not bully, humiliate, or exclude anyone online — including in group chats
Screenshot = escalation: I will not share screenshots of private conversations
I will stand up to bias, racism, and misogyny in group chats — or leave
I will disclose all AI use to my teachers fully and honestly
I understand that undisclosed AI use may be considered academic dishonesty
⚖️ Stay Balanced
My phone charges outside my bedroom every night — no exceptions on school nights
I will not game alone after 9pm on school nights
I will take real breaks from screens — walks, meals, conversations without devices
I will review my screen time report with a parent once a month
If screen use is making me unhappy or hard to stop, I will tell a family member
💬 Communicate Openly
I will tell my parents which group chats I'm in
If something goes wrong in a chat, I will take it off the phone before it escalates
I will tell a parent if I receive something that upsets me or makes me uncomfortable
I will be honest about AI use at school and at home
🔗 Connecting Screen Commitment
We will have at least one shared screen experience per week — a film, a series, something we choose together
When I game, I will prefer cooperative games with a friend physically present when possible
Devices at meals are off — for everyone in the household
In exchange, our family agrees to:
To know which group chats he's in without reading every message
To talk to him about what we see online before assuming the worst
To trust him and talk to him when we have concerns — not surveil first
Not to contact other parents about a conflict without talking to him first
To be consistent: the same device rules apply to adults in the house
To support him if he chooses to leave a group chat that is toxic
To have conversations about what he sees — AI, social media, group dynamics — without lecturing
Isolating screen warning signs — watch for these
⚠ He is gaming alone late at night regularly — especially on school nights
⚠ He seems more anxious or agitated after being on his phone
⚠ He is reluctant to put his device down when asked
⚠ His social life is increasingly online-only and he is harder to reach in person
⚠ He has withdrawn to his room with a device and doesn't want to come out
Student signature & date
Parent / Guardian signature & date
Revisit: September and January each year, and any time a new platform or group chat emerges
Framework: Common Sense Media · Browning Reclaiming Focus Initiative
Digital Life Snapshot · Upper School
Grades 9–10
Responsible Independence & AI as a Scholarly Tool Hot Topics for 9–10 →
R
S
D
St
Core Focus: All Four Themes
Active This Level Attention & Focus Protecting the capacity to be fully present — the foundation of all learning.
Active This Level Connection & Community Understanding when screens connect us and when they isolate us.
Active This Level Integrity & Honesty Representing our work truthfully — including our use of AI tools.
Active This Level Identity & Judgment Understanding who we are online — and who we are becoming.
Grade Goals

Technology access expands alongside demonstrated responsibility — and AI becomes a genuine scholarly tool.

Upper school students are developing the mature digital judgment that will serve them in college and in their careers. Technology access expands in 9th and 10th grade as students demonstrate the self-regulation and integrity that justify it. AI is now a real part of academic life — not a shortcut around thinking, but a tool that can sharpen it, when used well.

Faculty using AI in the classroom at Browning focus on the quality of the questions students ask, not just the polish of the answers they receive. AI works best when it scaffolds curiosity — and that's how we use it. Students who learn to ask better questions will be prepared to lead, not just to use, the tools of the future.

◉ On Attention In a world where AI can answer any question in seconds, the competitive advantage isn't access to information. It's the capacity to sit with a hard question long enough to actually think. To interrogate a source. To change your mind. That capacity depends entirely on protected attention. The Browning student who can do this — who can be genuinely present with a difficult idea — will lead. The one who has outsourced that work to AI will follow.
Key Objectives
AI literacy and ethical, transparent use in academic work
Deep research: synthesis, evaluation, and original argument
Storytelling: communicating ideas with clarity and confidence
Digital identity and online footprint awareness
Understanding AI-generated content and media literacy
Peer Leadership: modeling healthy digital habits for others
Social media: navigating presence and consequences
Certificates of Distinction: research with authentic voice
Family Engagement
Tech Talk Series — Upper School family events
Conversations about social media presence and digital footprint
Balance: academics, sleep, social life, and screens
Internet-search your son's name — know his digital presence
📱 Devices at School
ChromebookReMarkable
  • Chromebook for research and production
  • ReMarkable for writing and notes
  • Phones: classroom expectations apply
🤖 AI at Browning Guided Use AI is a scholarly tool, not a substitute for thinking. All use fully disclosed and cited. Supported tools: Gemini, NotebookLM, Canva.
📋 School Policy
All AI use disclosed and cited
AI does not substitute for student thinking
Classroom expectations vary by teacher
Academic integrity fully applies
👨‍👩‍👦 Parent Recommendations Source: Common Sense Media
📱 Phones
Full phone access with growing responsibility. By 9th grade, 91% of teens have a smartphone — the focus shifts from "if" to "how well." Evening charging outside bedrooms is still strongly recommended.
Periodic conversations about phone habits are more effective than monitoring. Ask: "What time do you put your phone down? How do you feel in the morning?"
⏱ Screen Time
Teens average 8.5 hours of non-school screen time daily. CSM recommends focusing on quality and balance rather than strict limits. Prioritize: sleep, academics, face-to-face social time, and physical activity.
Try reviewing iPhone Screen Time or Android Digital Wellbeing together weekly — as a habit-awareness practice, not a policing tool.
📲 Social Media
Social media is part of adolescent life at this stage. CSM recommends: periodic check-ins, following accounts, discussing digital footprint and the long-term consequences of what is posted publicly.
Periodically search your son's name together so he knows what's publicly visible. Delay additional platforms as long as possible.
Additional Guidance
Balance: sleep, academics, and social life all matter more than screen limits
Encourage credentialed news sources over social feeds
Discuss AI use openly — model honest disclosure yourself
Partner
Thumbs Down. Speak Up. (TDSU) — tdsu.orgBrowning's community partner for tween online safety. TDSU's three skills — Pause before posting, Reach out to a trusted adult, Move communication offline — align directly with our group chat guidance. Free Family Toolkit available at tdsu.org/family-toolkit
🔥 Hot Topics for this age group

🤖 AI in academic work — honest conversation

9th and 10th graders use AI for homework, brainstorming, and first drafts. Browning's position: full transparency required. The habit to build: "can you explain what AI contributed and what you contributed?"

Mollick & Mollick, Practical Guide to AI; UNESCO AI and Education, 2021

🔍 Asking better questions

Faculty using AI at Browning focus on the quality of questions students ask — not just the polish of answers. The distinguishing skill is the ability to interrogate, evaluate, and take genuine intellectual ownership of what AI produces.

Browning AI Taskforce philosophy; Ethan Mollick, Co-Intelligence (2024)

🌐 Digital footprint — starting to matter

College admissions officers report social media checks are increasingly common. Time to audit: Google your son's name. What comes up? Is it the story he wants to tell?

Kaplan Survey on College Admissions and Social Media 2023; NACAC

😴 Sleep and screens

The CDC recommends 8–10 hours of sleep for teenagers. Late-night gaming and device use are the most common disruptors. Sleep deprivation affects mood, judgment, academic performance, and impulse control online.

CDC Adolescent Sleep Guidelines; Browning Reclaiming Focus parent survey data
Conversation starters
TRY"When you use AI for schoolwork, how do you decide what to disclose to your teacher?"
TRY"If someone searched your name online right now, what would they find?"
TRY"What time do you typically put your phone down? How do you feel in the morning?"
TRY"What's something AI can't do that you can?"
Resources
Essential
Co-Intelligence — Ethan Mollick (2024)The most practical guide to living and working with AI. Mollick's framing of AI as a thought partner is exactly right for this age.
Resource
Common Sense Media AI Literacy Toolkit — commonsense.org/education/ai-literacy-toolkitFree resources for students and families on understanding, evaluating, and using AI tools responsibly.
Browning
Certificates of DistinctionThe clearest expression of authentic student work in an age of AI — original research, genuine voice, intellectual ownership.
Family Media Agreement · Grades 9–10 Review and sign together · Revisit each year
📱 Take Care
I am responsible for both my Chromebook and my ReMarkable — I will report any issues promptly
I understand Browning devices are for learning and I will use them accordingly
I will not use school devices to access personal accounts or entertainment during the school day
🔒 Stay Safe
I will use strong, unique passwords and not share them with friends
I will review the privacy settings on my accounts at least once a year with a parent
I will tell a trusted adult if I am being harassed, pressured, or targeted online
I understand that screenshots and messages I share can travel far beyond who I intended
💭 Think First
I will Google my own name at least twice a year to know my digital footprint
I will not post anything I would not want a college admissions officer, coach, or future employer to see
I will disclose and cite all AI use in my academic work — fully and honestly
I will interrogate AI output: evaluate it, push back on it, and take genuine intellectual ownership
I understand that AI-generated work I cannot explain is not my work
I will give proper credit to sources, including AI tools
⚖️ Stay Balanced
My phone still charges outside my bedroom on school nights
I will review my screen time report with a parent monthly — as a habit check, not a punishment
I will prioritize sleep over screens: devices off at a consistent time each night
I will choose screens intentionally — not as a default response to boredom
If screen use is interfering with sleep, schoolwork, or relationships, I will say so
💬 Communicate Openly
I will have honest conversations with my family about my AI use at school
I will tell a parent if something online feels wrong, dangerous, or overwhelming
I will be honest about my screen time habits — not minimize them
🔗 Connecting Screen Commitment
We will maintain at least one shared screen ritual — a series, a film, something we choose together
I will be present at meals — phone away, conversation available
I recognize that a screen that connects me to people I care about is different from one that isolates me
In exchange, our family agrees to:
To shift from monitoring to conversation — to ask rather than check
To follow his social media accounts — not to surveil but to know him there
To review screen time reports together as a habit-awareness practice, not a policing tool
To model the screen habits we want him to build — including our own
To trust his judgment and engage with his mistakes as learning, not failures
To support him when AI pressure at school feels overwhelming
Isolating screen warning signs — watch for these
⚠ His social life exists almost entirely online — he has followers but not close friends
⚠ He is using AI to avoid thinking rather than to think better
⚠ He is uncomfortable with silence, unstructured time, or being unreachable
⚠ He is more withdrawn after screen time than before
Student signature & date
Parent / Guardian signature & date
Revisit: September and spring semester each year
Framework: Common Sense Media · Browning Reclaiming Focus Initiative
Digital Life Snapshot · Upper School
Grades 11–12
Preparing to Lead in a World Shaped by AI Hot Topics for 11–12 →
R
S
D
St
Core Focus: Storytelling + Dialogue
Active This Level Attention & Focus Protecting the capacity to be fully present — the foundation of all learning.
Active This Level Connection & Community Understanding when screens connect us and when they isolate us.
Active This Level Integrity & Honesty Representing our work truthfully — including our use of AI tools.
Active This Level Identity & Judgment Understanding who we are online — and who we are becoming.
Grade Goals

The question is no longer whether to use AI — it's when, why, and how to evaluate what it produces.

Seniors leave Browning as emerging adults. They use the full range of digital tools — and they are expected to bring to that use the discernment, integrity, and intellectual confidence that a Browning education has cultivated. AI is a genuine part of their academic and creative work. So is the judgment to know when not to use it.

The habits that will define our graduates are not technical — they are human. The capacity to sit with a hard question, to research with rigor, to tell a story that only they could tell, and to engage in honest dialogue with peers and mentors: these are the things that will distinguish a Browning graduate in a world full of generated content. We believe our boys are ready.

◉ On Attention The college essay. The Certificate of Distinction. The original argument in a seminar. None of these can be generated. Each requires the sustained attention to produce something genuinely yours — an idea you actually held, a question you actually wrestled with, a voice that is unmistakably your own. Four years of Browning have been building that capacity. The question isn't whether you can use AI. It's whether you've protected enough of yourself that there's something real to say.
Key Objectives
Ethical AI use and original, authentic intellectual contribution
Managing digital identity for college and professional life
Evaluating AI-generated content with rigor and skepticism
Leadership in digital spaces — modeling habits for others
Certificates of Distinction: original research and authentic voice
College essay: a story only you can tell — not AI
Understanding adult digital choices and consequences
Preparing for a world where human judgment is the differentiator
Family Engagement
Senior family evening: Moving Beyond Browning
Audit your son's digital footprint together before applications
Begin conversations about adult choices as students near 18
Encourage credentialed news and independent media literacy
📱 Devices at School
MacBook
  • Full access with demonstrated responsibility
  • Device choices follow classroom expectations
  • Phone: mature personal judgment expected
🤖 AI at Browning Full Suite — With Discernment All tools available. Evaluated for appropriateness per task and teacher expectations. Authentic voice and original thinking are the standard.
📋 School Policy
Highest standard of disclosure and citation
Academic integrity: full personal responsibility
Certificates of Distinction require original research
College materials must be authentically your own
👨‍👩‍👦 Parent Recommendations Source: Common Sense Media
📱 Phones
Approaching adult responsibility. The conversation shifts from rules to judgment. Device-free sleep remains important through graduation. As students near 18, begin speaking about adult digital choices and consequences.
"Internet search your son's name — know what anyone who looks him up will find." (CSM guidance for high school families)
⏱ Screen Time
Self-regulation is the goal. CSM recommends teens audit their own screen use using built-in device tools and reflect on whether media use supports or undermines their goals. Adults average 9 hours/day — your modeling matters.
Ask your son to share his screen time report and discuss: "Does this reflect how you want to spend your time?" — without judgment.
📲 Social Media
Full access with adult-level awareness. CSM: what is posted publicly has an expanding audience — colleges, employers, and others do search. Ensure his online presence represents who he actually is.
Senior milestone: do a thorough social media audit together before college applications. Review, untag, and clean up anything that doesn't reflect who he is today.
Additional Guidance
Begin adult conversations as he approaches 18
Encourage independent, credentialed news sources
College essay: his story, his voice — AI cannot write it for him
Discuss AI discernment: evaluating and owning what AI produces
🔥 Hot Topics for this age group

✍️ The college essay — yours alone

The college essay is the clearest test of authentic voice. AI can help brainstorm — but the story, specific details, honest reflection, and voice must be genuinely his. Admissions officers are reading for exactly that.

Browning College Counseling; NACAC guidance on AI and college essays 2024

🤖 AI discernment — the senior standard

The standard at this level: "Can you evaluate, interrogate, and take genuine intellectual ownership of what you produced?" AI-generated work that a student cannot explain or defend is not their work.

Browning Academic Integrity policy; Mollick, Co-Intelligence (2024)

🌐 Digital footprint — adult stakes

At 17 or 18, the digital footprint has adult consequences — in college admissions, internship applications, and how employers will find them. Google your son's name together. What comes up? Is it the story he wants to tell?

Kaplan College Admissions and Social Media Survey 2023

📰 News literacy and AI misinformation

The information environment seniors will navigate in college is saturated with AI-generated content. Skills to develop: identifying credentialed sources, recognizing AI fabrications, and maintaining a standard of evidence before sharing.

Stanford Civic Online Reasoning (cor.stanford.edu); News Literacy Project (newslit.org)
Conversation starters
TRY"What piece of work from this year are you most proud of — what makes it genuinely yours?"
TRY"If a college admissions officer Googled you, what would you want them to find?"
TRY"How do you decide whether something you find online is actually true?"
TRY"What habits do you want to take with you when you leave Browning?"
Resources
Essential
Co-Intelligence — Ethan Mollick (2024)Required reading for anyone heading to college. AI as a thought partner, not a replacement for thinking.
Resource
Stanford Civic Online Reasoning — cor.stanford.eduResearch-backed tools for evaluating online information and identifying AI-generated content. Free and practical.
Browning
Moving Beyond Browning — Senior Family EveningBrowning's senior event addressing the transition to adult life, including digital choices and consequences at age 18.

The Browning School · Digital Life at Browning · 2026–2027

Developed Collaboratively with the Reclaiming Focus Initiative & the work of the Collaborative Learning Cohort

This guide is updated annually. Questions? Contact innovation@browning.edu · focus.browning.edu