After spending about two years with their heads in the books, officials with Calgary’s Catholic school district are almost finished a tough assignment: devising new homework regulations for students.
The Calgary Catholic School District has finished a final draft of its new policy, which sets time limits for homework in all grades — and asks teachers not to assign anyone homework over long weekends and holidays.
"The Calgary Catholic School District recognizes the importance of family time, the value of celebrating religious traditions, and the need to balance homework with other demands," reads the draft document, which was obtained by the Herald.
"It is therefore recommended, and supported by stakeholders, that teachers refrain from assigning homework over long weekends or holidays."
Board officials must still approve the draft and may still make changes in the coming weeks, a spokeswoman said.
"It’s nearing the final stages of completion," said Janet Sutherland.
Under the new policy, students will not be given formal homework until Grade 4 — an extra year over the current standard, which allows homework in Grade 3.
The new policy prescribes a minimum of 30 minutes and a maximum of 60 minutes for homework a night for junior high students in Grades 7 to 9; the current guidelines specify 45 minutes.
For senior high students, the new regulation mandates a minimum of 60 minutes and a maximum of 120 minutes — a change from the current policy, which has no time specification and leaves homework to teachers’ discretion.
"It certainly sounds pretty reasonable, particularly where the holidays are concerned," said Doreen Vanderstroop, who has a son in Grade 12 at St. Francis and had another child who has since graduated.
Drafting the new regulation involved seeking opinions from educators, parents and students.
One impetus for coming up with a document that spells out homework requirements was a lack of consistency across the Catholic system.
"My kids don’t have enough homework, as far as I’m concerned," said Lisa Page, a Royal Oak resident with children in Grades 3, 5 and 8.
Page said large class sizes at her children’s schools mean they don’t get the individualized attention they need and teachers aren’t always covering the entire lesson during class time.
"The teachers can’t possibly get through everything," said Page, who teaches Grade 6 at a private school.
Although the regulation sets out how much homework teachers should be assigning, it also spells out responsibilities for parents and students.
The document says parents should be informed if their child hasn’t completed homework — but advocates communication rather than punishment.
"Punitive measures to discipline students for incomplete homework such as missing other subjects or courses to complete the homework or loss of other privileges are inappropriate," it says.
As someone in both roles, Page said she appreciates the emphasis on communication between parents and teachers.
Page recalled a recent evening when she arrived home too late to help her son in Grade 5 with his math homework.
Page said she sent the teacher a note explaining why the work wasn’t done, and adding she would get her son caught up that evening.
"I think that’s important," she said.
The board has always advocated collaboration between parents and teachers, but Sutherland said the new regulation enshrines that philosophy in board policy.
"There’s a lot of room in there for working with parents to get the best outcomes for students," she said.
jvanrassel@calgaryherald.com
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