HOMEWORK POLICY

Teachers may assign homework in all grades and in all areas of the Curriculum in the Tewksbury Public Schools. The objectives of homework are: 

  • To help students develop independent and collaborative work-study habits. 
  • To reinforce learning that has taken place in school or introduce new learning that will occur. 
  • To increase potential for home/school communication. 
  • To increase opportunities for enrichment activities. 
  • To provide differentiated learning opportunities. 
  • To correlate school learning with outside interests of the students’ choice.

Role of the School/Teacher 

If homework is assigned, the teacher will: 

  • Tailor homework assignments to cater to the diverse learning styles, interests, and needs of students. This may involve offering choice in assignments or adjusting the difficulty level to challenge students appropriately. 
  • Ensure that students understand each homework assignment. 
  • Review students’ homework completion and provide relevant feedback in a timely manner. 
  • Ensure two-way communication between both students and parents/guardians when a student has difficulty completing or cannot complete homework assignments. 
  • Make every effort to honor students and families’ time off from school and not assign homework on weekends, holidays, observed religious holidays, or school breaks/vacations on the school calendar. 
  • Allow a student, following an excused absence, a reasonable amount of time to submit the homework missed due to the absences. 

Role of the Student 

The student will: 

  • Ask the teacher to clarify any assignment that is unclear or ask for assistance when needed.
  • Complete all their assignments within the time-frame given, to the best of their ability. 
  • Let their parent/guardian(s) know what the homework is and ask them for their assistance whenever needed 

Role of the Parent/guardian(s) 

The parent/guardian(s) will: 

  • Provide the student a consistent time and a suitable place for study. 
  • Review homework with the student to monitor its completion and the student’s understanding of the work completed. 
  • Communicate with teacher(s) whenever the student appears to have difficulty with homework or when clarification is needed. 

Time Guidelines 

While assigning homework is not mandatory, the guidelines below serve as a recommended MAXIMUM amount. It is expected that interdisciplinary/grade-level teacher teams will collaborate to ensure guidelines are not exceeded. 

Grade 5-8: not to exceed a total of 45 min/day (as determined by the core team)