Meet the Student Who Helped Give Newtown High School a 'True Vacation'

"I'm the kid who changed the homework policy."

That's how Newtown High School junior Grandon Smith introduced himself in an e-mail. Because of his hard work, Newtown High School students will likely see a much more relaxed April break this year. Smith's idea: make the break, from April 15-19, a "true vacation." With less homework to handle during time off, students will have a chance to relax and recharge.

It started just over a month ago, when Smith headed to Vermont for a ski trip with friends for mid-February break. They planned to have fun and take their minds off school, but they underestimated how much time they'd need to finish the homework they'd brought with them. So two of them headed home and pulled an all-nighter to finish. It was a long night full of hard work.

"And it seemed to me like a vacation should be a vacation," he says.

So he took the idea to Principal Charles Dumais. He says he didn't expect anything to come of it.

"But he's always said to us, 'If you have a request, you feel like there's something you can add to the school to make it a better environment, feel free to pitch the idea,'" he says. "I didn't think my idea was too unreasonable. So I sent him a simple e-mail."

Dumais liked Smith's idea. For weeks, the two worked together, meeting in Dumais's office during free periods. At Dumais's encouragement, Smith and his friend Jake Simonson -- the other student who pulled the all-nighter -- worked together to poll teachers on what they thought of the idea.

Once faculty and students had been consulted and the proposal had been reviewed with the High School Leadership team, they set to work developing guidelines.

Dumais highlighted Smith in a March 30 Newtown High School Blog post titled "Making April Break a True Vacation."

"Thank you to Grandon for stepping forward, speaking up, and working with the administration on making this April Break a true vacation for everybody," he wrote in the post.

He said the guidelines are "intended to decrease stress, increase the opportunity for mental and physical rest, and provide families with more quality time."

The guidelines, according to the blog:

• "As always, teachers are asked to 'Give less homework; Make it more meaningful.'"
• "As we approach the vacation, teachers are asked to set project deadlines so that they fall before the break so that students do not feel obligated to work over the break."
• "All teachers are asked to minimize (no more than 20 minutes), or preferably eliminate, work that is assigned to be completed over the break."
• "It is understood that Advanced Placement classes follow a curriculum that we cannot modify and the teachers of AP courses are asked to do their best to minimize work assigned for the break."

Dumais encouraged other students with ideas to make school better to complete the Unity Project Student Survey, distributed to students by e-mail.

As for what Grandon will do with his break? He'll be checking out at least one college, UConn, as he starts to think about his future.

"Other than that, I'm probably just going to enjoy my free time," he says. "And my lack of homework."