Verona Schools Try Out ‘Homework-Free Weekends’

VERONA, NJ — Maybe Verona’s public school students will get into a meaningful conversation that will help shape their life. Maybe they’ll support an important cause in the community. Or maybe they’ll simply spend the time reconnecting with their family and friends.

These are just a few of the benefits that administrators and staff in the Verona Public School District are expecting as they try out a new concept for 2019: “homework-free weekends.”

It's not quite a total ban yet. For now, the district is just dipping its toes in the water. According to a recent school advisory:

“We are happy to announce that on Feb. 1 and May 17, all schools and teachers in the Verona Public Schools will support two homework-free weekends… No homework will be due and no assessments will be given on Monday, Feb. 4 and Monday, May 20.”

Verona School Superintendent Rui Dionisio said the no-homework weekends are a critical step in the right direction.

“As educators, the Verona Public School District appreciates how homework can reinforce and extend the concepts learned in the classroom,” Dionisio wrote in a recent letter to the community. “Equally important, our team understands the value of shared downtime and renewal. We hope that these additional weekends are enjoyed and appreciated by your children and family.”

“Our goal is to support a healthy school-life balance without compromising student academics or achievement,” the superintendent added.

Verona High School Principal Josh Cogdill tweeted:

"We are so proud and excited to offer Homework Free Weekends at VHS. Thank you to our teachers and counselors who made this idea possible."

Verona isn’t the only school district in New Jersey that’s wrestled to find that elusive, tricky balance between too little homework… and too much. It’s a struggle that has been going on for years throughout the state.

In neighboring Montclair, when "Race to Nowhere,” a documentary film that questions students’ workloads saw public screenings in 2011, it sold out multiple times, with many parents asking whether Montclair schools should at least reduce the amount of homework given to students.

• See related article: Summer Homework In Montclair? You Gotta Be Kidding!
• See related article: 'Stop the Homework Overload' Petition at Montclair High School

Earlier this year, the Wayne Public School District announced that for three weekends during the 2019-20 school year, teachers will not assign students homework. The "wellness weekends" are designed to take some of the pressure off students and have them spend more time with their families, administrators said.

"While wellness weekends do not include homework, we hope they are far more than just a weekend without homework," Superintendent Mark Toback said.

• See related article: Wayne Schools Introduce Homework-Free Wellness Weekends

In 2016, two elementary schools in Woodbridge Township started off the school year by participating in a pilot program that deemphasizes homework. By assigning students less busy work, kids have more time to exercise and play outside, do chores around the house and spend time eating dinner with their families, Robert Mascenik principal Judith Martino said in a letter sent home to parents.

"It's not that there's no homework," Woodbridge Township School District Superintendent Robert Zega told NJ.com. "The homework that students will be coming home with is a little bit different."

• See related article: 2 Woodbridge Elementary Schools 'Deemphasize' Homework

During a school board-sponsored public forum in 2011, Montville schools Superintendent Paul Fried said homework can cause undue stress for students.

After many of the several dozen parents who attended the meeting shared their children's struggles and their own concerns with after school assignments, Fried announced a plan to create a short-term committee of parents, teachers and administrators to examine research on homework and its effectiveness before the district weighs implementing new policies.

• See related article: Homework Balance Is Struggle, Parents Say
• See related article: The Homework Hurdle: Is It Worth It?

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