Why Cherry Park Elementary Dumped Homework ... Mostly

By Rob Manning (OPB)
Portland, Oregon Sept. 15, 2016 10:27 p.m.
Cherry Park Elementary School principal Kate Barker approved a change to the school's homework policy - to drop regular, written homework.

Cherry Park Elementary School principal Kate Barker approved a change to the school's homework policy - to drop regular, written homework.

Rob Manning / OPB

What a difference a few months can make. Last spring, OPB visited Cherry Park Elementary School, where 3rd grade teacher Anne O’Brien, gave two reasons for assigning weekly, written homework.

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For kids, O'Brien felt it was important for grade schoolers to get in the habit of doing homework, so that they'd be ready for it later on. 

"It's just kind of an important practice for them - to get used to it," O'Brien said.

And O'Brien said that homework provided a link between teachers like her, and the parents of her students.

"So it's just this nice little communication with them, like 'oh, this is what you're doing in math now'," O'Brien said, last spring.

But just as OPB aired a story about Cherry Park having more homework demands than a neighboring school, Cherry Park was introducing a new, less-demanding approach.

Teachers and administrators at Cherry Park Elementary get together at the beginning of every school year to discuss possible building-wide changes. This year, everyone agreed to drop regular, written homework.

Teachers at Cherry Park Elementary School reviewed research before deciding to ban regular, written homework at their school.

Teachers at Cherry Park Elementary School reviewed research before deciding to ban regular, written homework at their school.

Rob Manning / OPB

That means teachers are no longer assigning math problems and are not demanding that parents sign off on weekly student reading logs.

What changed? Teachers, and principal Kate Barker, did their own homework.

"Each one of those book studies in some way or another commented that homework is either not equitable for all of our students, or didn't make a significant impact on student achievement," Barker said.

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Barker pointed to books like "Mathematical Mindsets," by Jo Boaler and "Seven Strategies of Assessment for Learning," by Jan Chappuis, as well as research papers and online articles. They all threw doubt on the value of homework for elementary schoolers.

Instead, Barker said teachers appreciated the value of students spending time outside, having creative play time or just talking or cuddling with their parents.

But what about practice? Teacher Anne O'Brien isn't worried about that. She said in September that students should get the practice they need in class. If there's one aspect she is concerned about, it's reading and whether students will read if they don't have logs to fill out.

Cherry Park Elementary School third grade teacher Anne O'Brien helps Raiden sharpen his pencil in April 2016.

Cherry Park Elementary School third grade teacher Anne O'Brien helps Raiden sharpen his pencil in April 2016.

Rob Manning / OPB

“There is the question. Will they be reading at home, since they don’t have that reading log, but I also feel like with the homework that went home last year, it wasn’t a lot of work, and sometimes it wouldn’t come back, or you’re not sure how much the kid is actually getting out of it,” O'Brien said.

O'Brien said she's not worried about staying connected to parents. Parents will know what students are doing by looking at completed work. She has an "open communication policy," and encourages parents to email or call her.  She's heard only positive reactions from parents. And students?

"They actually cheered," O'Brien said, with a laugh.

Kids are still expected to read every night, they just don't have to document it. And special assignments, like O'Brien's spring research project, are still okay. If O'Brien finds that students are not getting the practice they need on fundamental math skills, for instance, O'Brien can assign targeted math problems. The policy change is no "regular" written homework.

The family OPB talked to about the homework change, Raiden and his mother Angela Williams, won't actually experience the policy change. They moved to Vancouver, and Williams wasn't sure what the homework policy was yet. But she appreciated Cherry Park Elementary's change, noting it had been a struggle at times for her son.

The other school in OPB’s homework story last week (Earl Boyles Elementary) kept the same homework policy: everyone has a reading log, and additional written homework depends on the grade level. Third grade teachers were assigning only reading. But fourth grade? Expectations went up for the Class of 2025. Fourth graders will have math problems and other written homework, as well as the school-wide reading logs, which neighboring Cherry Park dropped this year.

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