Tech workers in Silicon Valley are sending their kids to a $28,000-a-year private school that shuns technology

Parents who work in technology are sending their children to "anti-tech" schools that don't use laptops and tablets in the classroom.
At Basis Independent Silicon Valley, teachers see technology as a tool for instruction, but they believe it should not replace human instruction.
Research has found smartphones and other devices used in excess can be dangerous for young people.

At Basis Independent Silicon Valley, a Bay Area private school that enrolls many children of tech workers, students graduate with a mastery of all things science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). But they don't get much screen time in the classroom.

The school said it shuns technology as a tool for teaching and uses laptops and tablets only when a teacher requires them for instruction — a practice that falls in line with the thinking of entrepreneurs like Bill Gates and Steve Jobs, who largely raised their kids tech-free.

"I think we see technology as a tool; we don't necessarily see it as the solution in and of itself," said Ian Block, CEO of Basis Independent Schools, a company that runs seven private schools in the Bay Area and New York City. "What really makes our classroom work is the teacher."

I recently spent a day at Basis Independent Silicon Valley, which offers grades five through 12, and didn't see anyone using a tablet or phone. Laptops were sparse. Students wrote down homework assignments and grades in planners called "communications journals."

Block said the school, which charges $28,000-per-year for tuition, will make technology available to any teacher who requests it. But teachers are encouraged not to use laptops and tablets just "for the sake of saying that we want technology in the classroom," Block said.

Some schools, especially in the Bay Area, use software to scale personalized education — an increasingly popular learning style that tailors lessons to students with different ability levels. But critics argue that when technology replaces human instruction, it comes at a cost.

Smartphones and other devices can be dangerous in excess

Toby Walker, head of school at Basis Independent Silicon Valley, said his students are "acutely aware of where we are geographically." The day of my visit, a computer-science class was on a field trip to Google's headquarters, which is located only a 20-minute drive from the school.

Last fall, the school installed a new policy that bans cell phone use anywhere on campus except in the main office area. Some students told me the rule was widely unpopular with students who wished to text throughout the day or order lunch through delivery apps like DoorDash.

Walker said the policy aimed to make the hallways safer. In between classes, students would scramble to their next class with eyes glued on their smartphones.

When students graduate, Walker hopes they will forge career paths as smart, compassionate, and well-rounded adults. He said he doesn't define their success by their tech savviness.

Tech workers in Silicon Valley are sending their kids to a $28,000-a-year private school that shuns technology

Smartphones and other devices can be dangerous in excess

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