I just think banning them outright is bad for needing to contact parents, especially for kids like me who had after school activities often.

Ok, well that's completely ridiculous.

Look, 25 years ago nobody had cell phones in school. Kids had just as many after school activities, this wasn't a problem. It was sometimes inconvenient, but not a problem. It's also worth remembering, many rooms in every high school have phones, you'll be able to use one if you need to.

I get wanting to have your phone throughout the day, I do. But on the other hand... no.