Homework

Philosophy

Legacy Private Academy assigns homework on a daily basis (Monday - Thursday) to its students. Occasionally, special reports and test preparation are assigned over a weekend. Homework is a vital part of the educational experience for a number of reasons:

Students often need some amount of extra practice in new concepts, skills or facts. In certain subjects (e.g., math or language), there is not enough time in a school day to do as much practice as may be necessary for mastery. Therefore, after reasonable in-class time is spent on the material, the teacher may assign Homework for the necesary practice.

Repeated, short periods of practice or study of new information is often a better way to learn that one long period of study.

Since Legacy Private Academy recognizes that parental involvement is critical to a child's education, homework can be used as an opportunity for parents to actively assist their child in his studies. This will keep parents informed and involved as to the current topics of study in the class.

Homework may also be assigned to students who, having been given adequate time to complete an assignment in class, did not use the time wisely. In this situation, the homework serves as a corrective as well as practical purpose.

Guidelines

The necessity for doing homework will vary from grade to grade and even from student to student. The amount of time spent on homework may also vary significantly from student to student depending on the student's capabilities and work habits. Incomplete or improperly done class work also may be sent home any night.

The following guide should be regarded as maximum times, not as required minimum times for homework. These guidelines apply only if homework is assigned. The guide should also be regarded as applying to the average night during an average week for the average student. Some students may consistently spend more time than the guidelines prescribe, and some may consistently spend less. The teacher will provide some sort of detailed syllabus or homework assignment schedule so the students will know what to anticipate and how to plan for homework.

Grade	Maximum Approximate Time Per Week Night
K	15 minutes
1st & 2nd	20-30 minutes
3rd & 4th	30-45 minutes
5th & 6th	45-60 minutes

*Normally homework will not be assigned over holidays or vacation periods.
*Normally weekend assignments should not exceed a regular "weeknight" assignment.

Making Homework A Positive Experience

The attitude of parents toward their child's homework is very important because it has a great influence on the way the child feels about it. In order for parents to help their children make the best use of the time, we suggest:

Set a definite time and place for study, in a quiet environment
Take an active interest in what your child is doing
Give encouragement, but do not do the work for your child
Give personal supervision where it is needed
Follow teaching methods used in school
Discuss ideas presented in the classroom
Conference with the teacher as to specific help needed