Trustees Ask For More Details In New Homework Policy

The Dublin school board has given some homework to a committee that is developing a new district policy on homework.

The trustees asked district staff and committee members to do more work on the preliminary plan presented Tuesday night and come back with a proposal that has more specifics.

"I think we need to have in there some big picture issues that the community wants us to address," said board president Greg Tomlinson. "This doesn't really address the meat of the concerns of parents."

Those details include possible time restrictions per grade level, guidelines on homework assigned during weekends and vacations, and a definition of exactly what homework is.

Superintendent Dr. Stephen Hanke said district staff will take the trustees' concerns and come back with an updated policy at the board's next meeting.

The board plans to approve the new policy this spring and have it implemented in the fall. The trustees said the guidelines will bring a significant change to the district.

"Dublin (schools) will be different in August because of this," said board member David Haubert.

The plan was developed by a committee appointed last September to address some concerns about homework.

Assistant Superintendent Tim McCarty presented the report to the board.

The committee's proposal requires each of the district's schools to develop guidelines for "meaningful" and "relevant" homework.

It also asks teachers at the same school to collaborate so students don't end up with too much homework.

"We want to be sure this is coordinated, so kids don't have six hours of homework," said McCarty.

The proposal also addressed students who repeatedly fail to do their homework and what opportunities will be made available for them to make up the work.

"What we're saying is if the quality assignment is there, then kids need to do it -- period," said McCarty.

Several trustees asked if they needed a definition of what "getting homework done" meant. Does it mean just turning in the assignment or does it mean doing quality work on it?

The trustees also requested that they be able to review the schools' individual plans to make sure they are meeting the goals of the board.

Board member Dan Cunningham cautioned against the board demanding too many specifics.

"I don't think we want to box ourselves in too much here," he said.

He noted the homework level required of students taking advancement placement classes would be different from other students.