A group of 35 district employees, teachers, and administrators met eight times in 2019 to hammer out a new district-wide homework policy. 

This policy would limit the amount of time students spent on homework each night, discourage homework over weekends and holidays, and ensure consistency of homework volume between course-alike classes, among other things. 

Unfortunately, because of the chaos of COVID-19, this policy, AR-6154, while in effect, was buried in the district’s website. The fanfare and educational briefings that were planned to go out along with this policy were postponed while the district dealt with the complications of COVID. 

Now that quarantine  is over and some of the chaos subsided, the homework and grading policy has been given out to all teachers as of Aug. 15. Jen Cook,  rolled out the policy to the Westview staff just prior to the first day of school.  

The Nexus believes that the policy is a step in the right direction for protecting students’ mental health as we go into the new school year; helping to balance the amount of time spent on schoolwork. 

Under this policy, high school courses (non-AP’s) should not exceed more than 30 minutes of nightly homework. This helps to limit students’ workload outside of school, leaving more time for recreation, work, and other activities. 

However, what takes one student a half an hour, might take another student much longer. The concept of 30 minutes of uninterrupted focus can vary person-to-person, and is difficult to pin down. 

However, drawing this line in the sand gives teachers a guideline, a figure to shoot for, even if the actual results vary. 

In a similar vein, the policy discourages assigned homework over holiday breaks and weekends. While it is not an outright ban, the sentiment expressed is a clear one: students do not attend school on weekends and holidays for a reason. They are times to rest, have fun, and de-stress from the rigors of classwork. 

According to a study in the National Library of Medicine, engaging in leisure activities promotes mental health, and the positive emotions that come from leisure help build resilience, creating  more resources for stress-coping. 

Not only does limiting the amount of time spent on homework help reduce student stress, it also helps them deal with the pressure they do feel during the week.

The limiting of both nightly and holiday homework leaves more time in students’ lives for the things they enjoy doing. 

We realize that many teachers do take these things into consideration when assigning homework; however, the codifying of this practice underlines its importance, and shows district support for minimizing the stresses of school. 

The policy is a solid foundation for homework and grading. The way it shifts toward preserving student mental health, as well as equity and fairness, is a welcome addition to the rules and regulations of our district.