Changes in Homework Policy Could be Coming to Glen Rock

Glen Rock school officials are redoubling efforts to determine a reasonable level of homework for students following a widely-discussed opinion article penned by a Glen Rock parent.

In a post on Patch, Sean Brennan argued his 6th grade daughter receives upwards of four hours of homework per night. While individual teachers issued reasonable amounts of homework, he argued the aggregate proved stressful for his daughter.

"Our issue is the load of homework being assigned and how the lack of a policy that not only guides time but purpose, is a major gap in our educational program," he wrote.

Glen Rock school administrators and board members on Feb. 25 said they've been working on the question for more than a year and will continue to chip away at crafting a new policy.

(A current homework policy does exist, though it has not been updated in decades.)

"What we need is to rethink this with the input of the administration, the faculty, the parents and students," school board president Sheldon Hirschberg told Patch. "We need to hear what everybody says so we collectively can make the best decision."

New policy changes will require the input from incoming superintendent Paula Valenti, so there's no clearly defined timetable for a change. She starts March 18.

"We can't amend our homework policy without her input," Hirschberg said. "She's responsible for implementing and enforcing it."

The question of the appropriate amount of homework is not a new issue.

In 1890, families opined that students had so much homework it made getting up at 5 a.m. to work on the farm difficult, the board president said.

He received a number of calls and emails from parents who supported the amount of homework students are receiving.

Director of Curriculum and Instruction Kathleen Regan acknowledged it's not easy moving from the tamer elementary school workloads to middle school.

"The progression to middle school is very challenging," Regan said, according to The Glen Rock Gazette. "We understand that when children move from one person assigning their work to several, the 20 minutes of work that seems reasonable from one teacher becomes something else when it's multiplied by five."

Administrators in the both the middle school and the high school have been working through parent surveys and input from committees to find an appropriate balance, Regan said.

Brennan, whose article spurred the renewed urgency, said he was pleased with the discussion.

"I am very excited that the BOE is directly responding to the issue and I look forward to seeing specific homework policy changes that benefit both our children and teachers," he said in an email to Patch.