Each week, syracuse.com will look back at some of our most important and valuable journalism from the previous week. Here are six stories for the week of Aug. 24, 2025.

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Central NY students plan their strategy for new school phone ban. An issue: How do lockers work?

The first days of classes this year across New York will test students’ ability to put away their high-tech habits in exchange for some old-school routines. But how will the state’s new ban on phones, smart watches, ear buds and other Internet-connected devices in schools work in real life? Syracuse.com spoke to two dozen Central New York high school students about how hooked they are to their phones, even while in classrooms

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