Should your kid bring a fidget spinner to school? Here’s how Wichita handles that

Fidget toys have been around for years, says Lura Jo Atherly, principal at Jardine Middle School in Wichita.

They can be a helpful tool for students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or sensory issues who like to keep their hands busy with squeeze balls, stretchy bands or spinners while they concentrate on a lesson.

About a month ago, though, Atherly started seeing fidget spinners everywhere.

“We had some kids who really need them,” she said. “But now we’re seeing them on kids who don’t really need them. They just like them.”

Fidget spinners, a hot new toy among elementary and middle school children, are colorful plastic or metal devices that fit in the palm of your hand and feature a ball bearing that allows it to spin.

Originally designed to help students with attention disorders, the gadgets, most of which cost between $3 and $10, are marketed as stress relievers for kids and adults.

Nancy Robinson, owner of Best of Times, a gift shop in east Wichita, said she began stocking the toys last month and sold so many the first day that she immediately ordered more.

Kids “beg for them at the counter,” Robinson said.

But some teachers say the spinners have become a distraction, and dozens of schools across the country have banished them from classrooms or school grounds.

Officials in Wichita, the state’s largest school district, said there’s been no flat-out directive regarding spinners or other fidget tools here. Rather, they let principals decide whether and how to manage the craze.

“Like any fad, yes, we’ve had some in our schools,” said district spokeswoman Susan Arensman. “As with other items, they shouldn’t be out during class, and students should pay attention to school.”

Atherly, the Jardine principal, said she leaves fidget spinners to teachers’ discretion.

“We do have a lot of kids that have ADHD – or they’re just in middle school, and they have a lot of excess energy,” she said.

“Most of the ones I’ve seen haven’t been a problem, but … we’ve had a few that had to be taken away for the day,” she said. “At that point, teachers just have to make those decisions themselves.”

Educators say the spinners are the latest in a long line of classroom distractions.

In 2010, some Wichita schools banished Silly Bandz – silicone bracelets students collected by the dozens – because some kids flicked them, argued over them or played with them too much. Before that, many schools banned Heelys, a brand of shoes with wheels embedded into the soles.

Last summer, after the Pokemon Go game became a global phenomenon, educators had to craft strategies for how to handle the craze when students returned to school.

Supporters of fidget spinners – including the Fidget Spinner Association – have condemned spinner bans in schools, saying the gadgets serve an important purpose.

“Fidget spinners are critical accessories for individuals with anxiety, ADHD, excess energy and fidgety hands,” Jill Dooley, executive director of the association, said in a statement released Thursday.

“FSA has launched an investigation into the actions of school officials, and we are currently exploring legal remedy to what we believe is an unlawful taking of private property.”

At the Rolph Literacy Academy in Wichita, a private school for children with dyslexia and other reading difficulties, several students use hand-held tools or rest their feet on bouncy “fidget bars” to help them focus.

“Some of the kids here, they just have to have a little bit of movement, so we do that,” said Ann Welborn, director of the school. “There’s a variety of things they can use that are quiet and (that) they can just hold onto.”

At least one youngster uses a fidget spinner, she said.

“There have been times when he might spin it in front of a kid’s face as they’re walking down the hall, so I say, ‘OK, you have to keep it in your pocket until you get to class,’ ” she said.

“If it’s supposed to be to help the child sit and learn and work and focus, then that’s fine,” Welborn said. “But if it’s going to be a nuisance or a distraction, it’s like anything else that kids bring. … You just do your best to balance and manage those things.”

This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 7:59 PM with the headline "Should your kid bring a fidget spinner to school? Here’s how Wichita handles that."