BRIEF: As fidget spinner craze grows, some Western Pa. schools ban them from classrooms

May 18--Call it spin control -- the effort in Western Pennsylvania schools and across the country to address the craze surrounding three-pronged gadgets known as fidget spinners.

The palm-size twirling toys, originally designed to help relax children with hyperactivity, anxiety and autism, are exploding in popularity. For many kids, having one isn't enough.

Learning Express Toys in Bakery Square carries 15 varieties of fidget spinners. The store will soon stock versions of the toy in Penguins, Steelers and Pirates designs, said Corey Walton, event coordinator.

Photo by Andrew Russell

"It's the new big thing," said Angela Keeley, an English teacher at Penn Hills High School.

Keeley allows students to keep the toys in her classroom if they remain respectful and quiet. But sometimes students spin them on their noses or foreheads or loudly on their desks. Then she confiscates them until school lets out.

She took four away Wednesday.

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