Homework policy at Woodland Hills upsets concerned parents

Homework policy at Woodland Hills upsets concerned parents
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By Daveen Rae Kurutz
PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, April 1, 2010

Buzz up!


Parents at Woodland Hills Junior High School are enraged by a school policy adopted this year that bars homework from being counted as a mandatory part of students' grades.

Students are to have no more than 10 minutes of homework per subject each night, according to a memo circulated by principal Janet Wilson-Carter. That homework is to be counted only as "extra credit," not part of a student's grade. That means students could receive an A in a course for which they never completed any homework.

"Remember, the purpose for homework is for practice, checking for understanding, pre-learning or processing," Wilson-Carter said in a memo Monday to teachers and staff at the junior high school. "Remember, homework should not be punitive. Assigning a zero for incomplete work is not 'holding them accountable.' Accountability is making them finish the work."

Parents' concerns prompted two meetings with administrators, including one Tuesday night. Teachers and staff have attended two training sessions this school year on the role of homework, Wilson-Carter said in the memo.

She did not return numerous phone calls seeking comment.

Laura Howell is worried that the policy will leave her children ill-prepared for high school. A mother of four, she has two sons in high school and one at the middle school. The work habits the middle school is encouraging won't lay the groundwork her eighth-grader and her peers need for more rigorous courses, she said.

"They feel like they don't have to do it, and that attitude isn't going to cut it in high school," said Howell, of North Braddock. "They don't need tons every day, but these kids do need homework. Otherwise, they're not continually learning."