Zeman students create connections with Tech-Free Tuesday initiative

February 2, 2026

Zeman Elementary School students are turning unplugged classroom days into closer connections with everyone on campus.
 
Zeman’s new Tech-Free Tuesday initiative has caused many Zebras to smile in their classrooms. The idea, which emerged during a staff planning meeting this past summer, has given teachers the opportunity to lead lessons without electronic devices or guides. Aside from technology-based classes such as computer science that some students may have that day, every Tuesday features a break from screens, e-books and video slides.
 
Zeman third graders Emmery and Rebeca said they have enjoyed the Tech-Free Tuesday concept. They have used printed worksheets to solve math problems, created handwritten notes for friends and spent more time in group discussions during the day.
 
“I like that it’s a day that you can look forward to interacting with people more without using tech,” Emmery said.
 
“It’s helped me a lot, because you get to have fun while learning,” Rebeca said.

 
Classmate Riley said he was unsure about the plan when administrators and teachers told Zebras about it this fall. Those feelings evaporated once he experienced Tech-Free Tuesday for the first time. He said it has become a fun day for everyone in his class.
 
“When I first heard, I didn’t think I would like it, but once we had one, I really liked it,” Riley said.
 
Zeman third grade teacher Ali Ward said she has been pleased with the way students have responded to Tech-Free Tuesdays. Current Zebras have never known a world without computer keyboards and slide-deck presentations, but they have made a smooth adjustment to pencils and paperback books once a week.
 
“I expected a little resistance, but they were really excited,” Ward said. “It was a little surprising just because of how dependent people are on technology now. I thought they might be disappointed on missing out on our ten minutes of reading an e-book or something like that, but nobody was disappointed. Everyone was excited.”
 
Staff members met this summer to create new academic and social goals for the school. They felt it was important to increase opportunities for students to engage with one another in class and for everyone at Zeman to share a common experience. Since technology is present in every classroom, they focused on that as the basis for their idea.

 
“It’s hard to compete with constant technology that they’re wanting and craving, because that’s what they like to do and what a lot of people do at home sometimes, so we thought, ‘Well, we could eliminate it a little bit. We could try,’” Ward said. “And it’s been great. If you ask them, I think Tuesday is one of the days they look forward to the most because it’s different. Not that it’s good or bad, it’s just different and exciting for them now.”
 
Ward has incorporated many community-based activities in her Tuesday classroom planner. During one morning, students learned how to identify the numerator and denominator of fractions written on a whiteboard. They sat together with their workbooks at the front of the room and deciphered several fraction-based story problems.
 
Ward then chose someone she felt had displayed good effort to stand up after each section of the lesson was done. They got to throw crumpled-up pieces of paper at a wastebasket as a “trashketball” reward for their work.
 
Riley felt that those types of non-technology activities have been valuable for everyone.
 
“I’d say it’s helped us learn the same amount, but just in more fun ways,” Riley said.

 
Penmanship has become one of the most popular parts of Tech-Free Tuesday in Ward’s room. She replaced e-book reading time with a chance for her students to create encouraging cards. The Zebras fill in blank canvases with heartfelt notes for others in their lives.
 
“You get this card and you write it to your friends,” Emmery said. “It really means a lot to them. It’s fun. It means a lot to me too.”
 
“It’s kind of like a lost art, writing your notes down on paper,” Ward said. “A lot of parents have reached out and said that has been really meaningful to have those notes come home. It’s such a small thing, but we get busy and we forget about little things like that, so it’s been fun to add something that gets us back to connection.
 
“I’ve connected with them more and they’ve connected with each other more. Maybe they’re friends with someone they weren’t before because they wrote them a note. That’s been something we’ve replaced technology with specifically. It’s fun to read what they write to each other.”
 
The Tech-Free Tuesday mindset has also spread beyond Zeman’s walls. Ward said parents have told her that their children have asked for increased family time whenever the calendar lands on a Tuesday.
 
“I think a lot of them go home and do it at home too,” Ward said. “They’re the ones telling their parents, ‘No, it’s Tech-Free Tuesday.’ That’s been really fun to hear those stories.”
 
Many Zebras have benefited from those family conversations with a bright reading incentive. Zeman received an Inchy’s Bookworm Vending Machine this year through a partnership with TeamMates Mentoring. When students tell teachers about their technology-free experiences with their families, they can earn chances to receive a brand-new book from the vending machine.
 
“This piece is so vital because it shows that the learning doesn’t stop at 3:38 p.m.,” Zeman Principal Rudi Wolfe said. “It’s a partnership with our families to prioritize connections over screens.”
 
Ward said she believes Tech-Free Tuesday’s unplugged environment will benefit Zebras for many years to come.
 
“It bumps engagement quite a bit,” Ward said. “I feel like it’s helped us be more engaged all of the time, not just on Tuesdays. It’s a reminder that you can try different things to help our kids.”
 
Engagement helps drive student wellbeing and outcomes. Learn more about this goal and other strategic aims in the 2024-29 LPS Strategic Plan. 
 
Do you have a story idea? Share it with the LPS Communications Team by filling out this form!

---