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Which Schools Have No Homework?

Parent q&a.

Select any title to view the full question and replies.

Any schools that hand out little to no homework?

Hi Parents!

I realize that this goes against most teaching philosophies, but does anyone know of any schools in Berkeley, Oakland or SF that give their students little to no homework in the evenings? Some of these schools that I’ve been touring just seem like overkill on what kids need to do at night.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

You don't mention what grade level you're looking at, and it does vary by elementary/middle/high school. At my child's public high school, there is a policy about no more than 20 min/night/class, except for AP or Honors classes. We've been happy with that, although most teachers are very inflexible about late assignments (they don't accept them). At our other child's private middle school, there is no stated policy and it varies by teacher and subject quite a bit, although they all say there's lots of flexibility for turning it in late.

If you're looking at K-3rd grade, I agree with your drift that there should be zero homework, with exceptions for bigger projects and/or nightly reading (as long as they make it not a chore). And I'm sure you can find schools that will explictly say that's their policy, just as I'm sure you will run across individual teachers who don't follow it.

My children are both at Rosa Parks Elementary in Berkeley and have, essentially, no homework. We/they are asked to read regularly, and occasionally have a project to work on for holidays or special occasions, but they don't have anything regularly. It's wonderful!

For elementary, Walden Center & School gives out very little homework, which is line with their teaching philosophy, as well as the most current research on homework's benefits & costs (i.e. all the other things children could be spending the time with, including play!). In 2nd grade, we get a small packet of worksheets to be done over the course of the week - but it's not a big deal if it doesn't get done. Occasionally there's a bit more - e.g. in preparation for science week (which includes a science fair) the kids get small assignments each week, but it's meant to provide scaffolding to allow them to think through the steps of their planned science experiment and complete the work & poster by the time science week rolls around. 

Overall, we've been very happy with the project-based academics at Walden, and especially the way they're structured to connect with socioemotional learning & social justice. As an example, my 2nd grader's class as been doing a project on people with disabilities, and how our society succeds and fails in various ways to support people with disabilities. In social studies/english they've been learning about athletes with disabilities and reading/writing about different individuals. In science & math they're working on engineering spaces that are accessible to "clients" with varying disabilities & preferences - how would a house need to be designed to accomodate an electric wheelchair user who also has a dog? What sort of square footage is needed in the garage? How would charging facilities for the wheelchair need to be designed?, etc.). It's pretty fantastic how the teachers weave this type of learning into everything they're doing!

You didn't say how old your kid is, but if you're looking for a more balanced elementary school school experience I would thoroughly recommend the Waldorf model. Our kid is in first grade at Wildcat Canyon Community School in El Sobrante (near Richmond) and has absolutely 0 out of school responsibilities. I believe that in third grade kids start being expected to do instrument practice outside of school but nothing else. Having unstructured time to play, do chores, etc. is really important to the Waldorf model. Happy to talk more about the school if you're interested--feel free to PM me!

Berkeley Arts Magnet gives very little homework. I have a third grader and sixth grader who graduated last year. In K through 3rd, the homework is mainly just reading on your own or with a parent. There also is some math homework in 4th and 5th grades, but not a lot.

My sixth grader attends Black Pine Circle. There is homework most nights, but not more than an hour or so of work. They say the number of minutes of homework matches the grade times ten (60 minutes for sixth grade, 30 minutes for third grade, etc). My daughter is very happy there.

Berkwood Hedge has very little, at least in our child's experience. Most days he has none. 

I'll be interested to read the responses. I have heard of charter middle and high schools that do not have evening homework, rather the school runs an extra 1-2 hours in the afternoon for supervised independent study, but I don't which schools specifically.

In my experience as a student in the Berkeley Public Schools of the 1970s, I had pretty much no homework K-3, and then 4-6 were weekly writing journals and project-based homework. This seemed great at the time, but turned out to be a huge disservice when I got to 8th grade and school got really hard really fast (algebra and Shakespeare!) and I had no good study skills or homework habits. Most of the students who did well had older siblings so their parents knew from experience what to expect.

Homework, although it is a huge time-suck for many years, does teach more than the material itself. The components of learning time-management, organization, how to work independently as well as part of team projects, are critical life skills.

My child attends Urban Montessori, a charter school in Oakland (she's in second grade and started in TK during Covid). They don't have homework, even in the older grades (the oldest child there I know is in 5th grade and they have no homework, but they are allowed to take home work if they need to catch up -- but not many do). This does not go against most teaching philosophies as homework has not been found to be effective in the lower grades at least. We are very happy with her school and the Montessori system and I don't feel that her learning has been hindered because of no homework. In fact, the opposite. She's also able to participate in several extracurricular activities and play outdoors every day. 

My kids go to Crestmont School in Richmond/El Cerrito Hills. They don't have any homework until 4th grade when then have one weekly reading response page (very reasonable).

Mentoring Academy High School in Berkeley has a "no homework" policy. They also have a 9am starting time. The only drawback is the school day ends at 5pm (3pm on Fri).  Our son goes there and is very happy with it.  The "homework" assignments are handled in the afternoon (after tea time) with the staff present to assist.

Yes the day is long but once he is home the time is entirely his to game etc.

Archived Q&A and Reviews

Elementary schools with no homework.

Not sure these exist, particularly in the public school domain, but worth a shot: Wondering whether there are schools out there, either public or private, that do not give elementary school children homework. I don't mean the current trend of ''flipped classrooms,'' where homework is done in class and instruction at home (though I think this is a worthy innovation when kids are older), but rather where there is no work to be done outside of the classroom. With the intention that children are free to play and structure their own time outside of school as they wish. This seems rather utopian when I write it, but as this is the Bay Area, there has to be somewhere that adheres to this type of philosophy, right? Or, perhaps not in the Bay Area that people have heard of? It's that important to us that we would consider moving to find the right educational environment for our children. We currently live in Oakland. Thanks. educational utopian

If you are looking for a school with no homework, check out Sudbury schools. I don't know if there are any in the Bay Area but there is one in Denver. Www.alpinevalleyschool.com

Check out Beacon Day School: www.beaconday.org Oakland independent school, NO homework until 5th grade, year round school, terrific arts program. My children were very happy there until we moved to Berkeley and public school. They regularly debate whether they would trade summer vacation for no homework, but from an educational perspective, the no homework year round program is excellent for all kinds of learners. Happy former Beacon parent

I read that the private school, Hacienda in Pleasanton is year round and does not give homework. I dont recall every detail but I believe they go up to 8th grade. Good Luck! http://www.headsup.org/menuhu/campuses/haschool.html -Rose

No homework in elementary school is no utopia! The school you are looking for is Beacon Day School, a K-8 private school by the Oakland Embarcadero. It assigns no homework until 5th grade so that children are free to be with their families and/or pursue their hobbies after the regular school day is over. Also, the school is year-round so there are 40+ extra school days over which to stretch the curriculum. This allows the students to engage in academic practice, i.e., ''homework'', IN school and supervised, with immediate feedback from the teachers. Beacon Day School believes wholeheartedly that young children should be allowed to be creative and be given time for play and leisure, not to mention the arts. Beacon also offers a strong music, visual art and dance curriculum.

Our daughter loves Beacon. She has attended Beacon for the past 4 years, and we find that the developmental-progressive and wonderfully warm and diverse school culture has allowed her to thrive both academically and socio-emotionally. Please check out Beacon: www.beaconday.org. For further questions about our family's experience, please feel free to ask the moderator for my contact information. A happy Beacon Day School parent

Check out Beacon Day School in Oakland! No homework for kids in grades K through 4. Our daughter is in the third grade and we have been delighted with this very sensible policy. Beacon is a year-round school running on a trimester system, so kids get 225 days of school a year (50-60 more days than other schools). Take a look at Beacon's website for more information. Ann B

Hands-on, no-homework private/charter elementary?

We're looking at private and charter schools for our son entering kindergarten next fall. While I haven't entirely formed my philosophy about elementary school, I'm leaning towards hands-on, interactive, project-based schooling with no or very little homework. I like elements of Montessori and emergent curricula. Focus on non-cognitive/social skills is a must. Field trips, language, arts, science - yes! Sitting stuck at a desk all day doing worksheets - no! If it's a private school, lower tuition would definitely be a big plus. We will apply for financial aid, but doubt we would get enough to make it work once our younger son heads to elementary. I'm exploring schools on my own, but thought I would throw out this general question to see if any hidden gems emerge. Also, my husband is interested in Catholic school for the cost savings, but I can't imagine those meeting the criteria above. Please let me know your recommendations for private/Catholic and charter schools. North Oakland-Richmond area (I-80 corridor) preferred. Thank you! The search begins....

Hi. I don't know about an elementary School that fits your interests. The East Bay School for Boys in Berkeley sounds like it would be an ideal School for your family, however, its a middle School (Grades 6-8). Perhaps you can contact them. I'm sure they would have insight into elementary schools with a similar philosophy/programming. They also host a speaker series called Boys 2 Men that hosts panelists from like minded Schools/programs. You could always get on their mailing list. Happy EBSB parent

Urban Montessori is the school you want then. A public charter school in Oakland, the school was founded on Montessori/Design Thinking philosophies. Hands on, project based with no homework is pretty much the exact model of the school. For more information visit http://www.urbanmontessori.org/about/our-mission UMCS parent

Why don't you take a look at Prospect Sierra ? There is an unbelievably good social and emotional program, and virtually no homework in K. Homework starts in first grade, but it takes my kid only ten minutes a night (at most) and he enjoys it. The academics are superb; and he is making art and friends to boot. They also have a very generous financial aid program. If your kid is a good fit, I'm sure they'll make it work. Happy PS Parent

Please consider Archway School in Oakland. My son started there last year in kindergarten and is now in first grade. It is a truly amazing school. It is small, intimate and wonderful. The teachers/staff are absolutely the heart and soul of the school. They are devoted, motivated, kind and loving. We came to Archway from a very well-known montessori-based school.....and Archway is light years better. Please call Michelle, Admissions Director, at (510) 547-4747. You need to do a tour and meet the teachers....you won't get a feel by driving by campus. The facility is irrelevant. The teachers are everything. Very happy mom

You should put Walden School on your list. It's a very small K-6 school established in 1958. It's near downtown Berkeley and it definitely qualifies as a ''hidden gem.'' The tuition is lower than average because of the light-weight administrative structure of the school, and scholarships are available, so there are many families at the school with modest means, especially young artsy families. Wealthy families are there too but I would say they are in the minority. The homework policy at Walden was described to me as ''gentle'' when we first visited - it was a priority of mine, too. This has turned out to be very accurate. But at the same time I have been impressed with the amount of knowledge and academic confidence that our son, now in the 6th grade, has acquired. The best part about Walden is the teachers. Unlike most other schools, Walden does not have a director or Head of School or principal -- the teachers collectively share in the decision making, so they really believe in the mission and are dedicated to a degree that I have not seen in any of the schools my 3 kids have attended, both public and private. Most are ''lifers.'' And by the way, the performing arts program at Walden is like none other in the Bay Area and has been a major factor in our child's growth. It's an incubator for local highschool-level theater groups. Walden is a school that really walks the walk -- what you get is way more than what you see. Walden isn't for everybody, but if it's right for your family, you'll be in paradise! GO

I want to recommend Crestmont Cooperative . It meets all your criteria with a special emphasis on hands-on learning, nature-oriented exploration, family involvement, social/identity development, and project-based curriculum. There are plenty of field trips and opportunities for children throughout K-5 to interact with each other, including a buddy exchange. The tuition is about half tha of many private schools, and you can even ''participate'' to get a further tuition deduction if you don't qualify for financial aid. It is a diverse, warm and friendly learning environment in the Richmond Hills. A Happy Parent and Child

I can highly recommend checking out Crestmont School on the Arlington in the Richmond View neighborhood! I have had 2 daughters go there (youngest is a current 5th grader) and the balance of field trips, language arts, reading, spanish, music, and PLAY time is fabulous. The teachers are creative, fun, and get the kids out into the world to explore and experience their community.

It is a parent owned co-op, so the community is very strong and involved, which means every child is seen and heard. For your husband concerns, the cost is 50% less than other private schools because of the co-op structure. We LOVE the Kindergarten teacher, who is so warm and caring and fun (we actually love ALL the teachers!!). A great way to enter elementary school.

One of the best parts of Crestmont is the ability to adapt to each child, and their learning needs. The homework for a 5th grader is less than 15 min a night, and then reading each day.. no pressures or 3 hour evenings of homework.

My other daughter, who graduated from Crestmont, is an 8th grader and is thriving educationally, as well as socially, and loves going to her school, which I credit Crestmont in helping give her the love of learning, and the environment to grow. scott

Hello, I think Walden Center & School in Berkeley may be a good match for your description. This is a small, arts-based, project-oriented school. There is a some homework but it's not excessive. My daughter in 2nd grade has one assignment each week, and my son in 4th grade has homework 2-3 times per week. As I recall, in kindergarten there may be homework such as: once a week, 'draw a picture of a story you're reading.' The teachers are thoughtful, engaged, and creative. Education is integrated between arts & academics. For example, in first grade my son's class had an Ancient Egypt segment that integrated history, visual arts, language, math, and even a dress-up event. The kids bring home so much art I have nowhere to put it all! The school has a strong music and drama program as well.

Also, Walden is cheaper than most private schools. To keep costs down, there is mandatory volunteer work - parents maintain the grounds, clean the school, handle administrative tasks and more. Many families get financial aid. You can find tuition and admissions info on the website, here: http://www.walden-school.net Good luck! Walden parent

The description of what you are looking for in a school fits very well with what our family has experienced at Berkwood Hedge . The biggest strength of this school is its teachers, every one of whom seems beautifully in tune with both individual children's development and the social and emotional needs of groups of children as they progress through elementary school. It is a place where both children and adults can bring their passions and interests into the curriculum. My third grader has come home recently discussing the impacts of plastic downcycling on what can be reasonably recycled, and he was the person who made sure our family watched the presidential debate so he could better understand the U.S. political process. But as important as those topics are, and as passionate as he has become about them, he was even more excited about creating Balobbyland, an imaginary world for centimeter tall creatures (and in so doing he became more fluent in multiplication and measurement). The teachers really ''get'' children, and this is evident in the excitement with which the kids take up challenging projects and ideas.

Art, music, and PE are treated as necessary and important parts of education rather than as extras, and my children love all of their specialist teachers (in addition to those three, there are also Spanish and environmental science specialists).

The social environment of the school is really sweet, both because the school is small and because of how the teachers work to support social development. My kindergartener comes home telling me about her third grade friends. The fact that a crew of third graders will happily play with the kindergarteners at recess (and teach them how to braid, do cartwheels, and a host of other things) is both surprising and heartwarming to me. There is a real sense that everyone at the school cares for everyone else.

You mentioned preferring no homework, and there is in fact some at Berkwood Hedge. But I'm a no homework supporter myself, but I don't find the limited homework inappropriate or overly time consuming. The teachers use homework judiciously, for specific purposes. Good luck in your school search! I hope you find a good match for your family as we have for ours. Happy BH Parent

Well, a charter school right in your target zone is NOCCS. However, over the past few years, it has shifted to an intensive homework/teach to the test school. Just a suggestion to ''do your homework'' so to speak (no pun intended) and go beyond the hype of various schools' advertised claims and find out what's really happening on the ground. Good luck! Educator

One school you will want to look into is Crestmont School in Richmond View. Our son graduated from Crestmont four years ago. After coming from a school that emphasized frequent and escalating test-taking, we were looking for a school that had instead a hands-on, experiential learning focus. We found that focus at Crestmont, where there were wonderful field trips, hands-on projects, and creativity incorporated into the daily learning. There was also a community focus at Crestmont, and the mixed-age classrooms (he was in the 2-3 class and then the 4-5 class in his 3 years at Crestmont), excellent teachers, parent involvement, small class size, and many community events really added to his (and our) experience at this school. As working parents, we were also very appreciative of the caring environment of the before/after school program. Crestmont Alum Family

We were in your position last year, searching for a Kindergarten for our son with many of the same qualities you're seeking. Archway School in Oakland has been a wonderful fit for our family and I hope you'll take a look at it.

Archway is an independent, progressive school with two campuses: K-4 in Oakland and 5-8 in Berkeley. Classes are small and multi-age with a maximum of 16 students, so there is no possibility of falling through the cracks. Archway is a warm, tight-knit community and our son is really thriving there. All the students know one another and the older kids look out for and mentor the younger ones. If you read the school's goals on their website www.archwayschool.org you'll see that one is to prepare students both academically and socially. Particularly at the K age, the school recognizes how crucial social-emotional development is and actively fosters it. Across all grades there are community building efforts, both at the school level, then at the surrounding community level, and of course, the larger world.

There is no homework in K and the homework for other grades seems very reasonable, with no busywork assigned. The ''h'' in Archway stands for ''hands-on learning'' and project-based learning is key to academics at the school. In my son's class there is plenty of opportunity to move around, both in the classroom and at recesses, plus there is scheduled PE time. In addition to the math, reading, writing, social studies, and science that are part of the K/1 curriculum, all students also have Spanish, music, and art classes. We've been very pleased with the enthusiasm and creativity of all the instructors at Archway. Our biggest problem is getting our son to leave school at the end of the day and reassuring him, when he wants to go to Archway on the weekends, that Monday will come soon enough.

Call(510)547-4747 to reserve your spot at the K-4 information meeting on Sat., Nov. 10, 10AM-12PM. Free childcare is provided. You can also sign up for a K-4 school tour (adults only) on many Thursdays, including Oct. 25, Nov. 1, 8, 29, Dec. 6, 13, and Jan. 10, 17, 24. Best of luck in your search. Happy at Archway

Wow, you could be describing Crestmont School ! My son is in 2nd grade at Crestmont, and I can tell you it has everything you are looking for. The curriculum is hands on and project based, fostering critical thinking and engagement. Class sizes are small, allowing teachers to work with different learning styles and not be forced into a ''one-size-fits-all'' approach. There are 1 to 2 field trips every month! There is no homework in K or 1st grade, and very little in the other grades. Art instruction is integrated into the curriculum, and there are Spanish classes, PE and music several times a week. There is also a learning specialist. There is a very high importance placed on social-emotional learning at Crestmont; the teachers create this curriculum together based on current research and proven practices. My son feels very safe and respected at Crestmont, and has displayed some impressive conflict resolution skills. Because Crestmont is a parent cooperative, the tuition is around half that of other independent private schools. There are coop responsibilities each family has to fulfill, but they are not onerous, and there is a real sense of community that develops from the coop structure. And, Crestmont is minutes off I-80 in the hills of Richmond. There are upcoming tours and information events; see our website (http://crestmontschool.org/). I hope you'll check out the school, I think you will love it! Crestmont parent

You mentioned that you weren't sure about the educational philosophy that most appeals to you. Given your interest in emergent curriculum and project-based schooling, you might want to explore progressive education. Reading Alfie Kohn's books / articles are a great place to start. Here is a wonderful list of his writings from his website:http://www.alfiekohn.org/books.htm.

There are a number of schools in the East Bay with a progressive education philosophy. We were similarly interested in a creative, engaged learning environment and ended up choosing Aurora School in Oakland off Broadway Terrace. Aurora is dedicated to progressive education, has multi-graded classrooms (K/1, 2/3, and 4/5 -- students loop with the same teacher for two years), fabulous specialist teachers (music, art, Spanish, movement, PE, woodshop, computers, library), an INCREDIBLE library (10,000 volumes -- the same size as or bigger than many large public elementary schools with five times the number of students and an amazing librarian who sat on the Newberry Medal committee two years ago), and a lovely community of families.

A few of the reasons Aurora appealed to us (and why we've been so happy with the school) include:

*Aurora's very strong emphasis on social and emotional development which is an integral part of the curriculum and culture of the school. Children learn who they are as individuals and as part of a community. They are supported in discovering what kind of learners they are and where their interests lie. There is also a conflict resolution process, and all the kids learn how to express their feelings and resolve conflicts. My son has felt so safe there and has such a beautiful sense of belonging.

*There is no rote learning, no teaching to the test, and no worksheets at Aurora. The curriculum is very creative, and children are actively engaged in student-centered, hands-on learning.

*No homework in kindergarten and first grade. Starting in second grade there is a weekly homework packet that takes a total of 30-90 minutes per week (depending on the week and the child). There is more homework in 4th and 5th grade, but it is fairly minimal, relevant, and the intention is to prepare students for middle school homework. I am not a fan of homework in general, and we haven't found it to be particularly burdensome at all (my son is now in 4th grade).

*12:1 max student:teacher ratio. Every classroom has two full-time teachers. This is a huge advantage in my opinion. So much of the time in younger grades is spent managing behavior (even if the kids aren't particularly unruly, they have to transition from one activity to the next, listen, focus, etc.). When you have two teachers, one can TEACH and the other can help children settle and/or manage any difficult behaviors without constantly interrupting the flow of the lesson.

*Multi-grade classrooms: this means your child stays with the same teachers for two years. This is wonderful for the child who becomes really well known by his teachers. They are able to cater to his learning style and give him support where he needs it and challenge him where he needs it.

*Aurora is a small school with a cozy, nurturing environment, but it also has a large enough social pool to allow for lots of connections and friendships among the kids. There are many opportunities for older children to mentor younger children, and many kids develop friendships across grade levels (the multiage classrooms help with this too!).

*Aurora's art, movement, music and Spanish programs are wonderful and fully integrated into the curriculum. For example, when the kindergartners are studying tress, they might sketch trees in their art class or use bark and leaves in creative ways, learn about different kinds of wood in woodshop, and learn songs and dances about trees in music and movement (Aurora has woodshop which is a much loved, wonderfully creative part of the curriculum and a huge favorite among the kids).

*There is a genuine culture of kindness among the children at Aurora. The older kids are so gentle and sweet with the little ones, and many younger children count older children among their friends. We love that aspect of the school.

The best way to know whether a school would be a good fit for your child and family is to visit. Aurora is having an open house on Thursday, November 8 from 7 pm to 9 pm, and tours are scheduled from November through January on Wednesday and Friday mornings. You can just come to the open house, or feel free to contact the admissions director Lisa Piccione at (510) 428-2606.

Like you, we were looking for an elementary education for our children that would expose them to all the highlights of the youngest years of learning: a focus on core elements of science and math, an immersion in art, an introduction to music and the foreign languages, AND we wanted it all tied together in a community that would surround and envelop my son with a smart mix of warmth, encouragement and the teaching of real-world decision-making skills. We found that, and have been for six years at Crestmont School on the Arlington Ave. in the Richmond Hills/El Cerrito boarder. Though we considered homeschooling, what changed my mind was the breadth of focus at Crestmont: the abundance of fieldtrips, the chance to study and play outdoors in a multivenue learning environment, the focus on the fact that different children learn differently and the ability to tailor teaching methods based on that principle. There's also a strong focus on taking care of one another and genuinely welcoming those around us, no matter how different they may be. Last week was anti-bullying day, and every child wore bright orange to show that not only are they against bullying, but more importantly, they can recognize what it is and take a stand against it. Crestmont is a parent teacher co-op, so there's a real hand-in-hand aspect to building the right kind of environment together. It's been a hidden gem. Shhhh! Susie A

I highly recommend The Berkeley School (formerly Berkeley Montessori School) in Berkeley. Our son is in 3rd grade and has been at TBS since Kindergarten and we absolutely love it. The teachers, administrators and community of families at this school are incredible. There is a lot of emphasis on reading and writing in the early years as well as hands-on experiences for science and math. There is virtually no homework, tests or sitting behind desks in the first few years. What we appreciate the most is that they teach the kids how to learn and why learning is empowering and important. To do this they give the kids the freedom and personalized guidance to build on their gifts and confront their challenges.The school is located on University Avenue just a few blocks from I-80. Check out the website (http://www.theberkeleyschool.org/) for more information. -Arash Sara

In addition to the many wonderful schools mentioned last week, you should pay a visit to The Berkeley School (formerly Berkeley Montessori School). We interviewed many of the schools that were recommended, and were impressed by the thoughtfulness and dedication of each one, but TBS stood out for its deeply pragmatic pedagogy (not the last time you'll hear that word...), its continued investment in its teaching staff, and the integrity of its administration. Mitch Bostian (head of school) and Zaq Roberts (K-5 division head) are each your favorite English teacher, ever, now having moved into administrative roles to bring their experience and amazing talents to bear on the entire school. TBS is both well-funded and well-managed enough to offer significant financial aid to support an economic diversity of families. To us, it felt like home. See if it feels the same to you. A TBS Family

I highly encourage you to check out Montessori Family School . It has both a Preschool (in Berkeley) and a K-8 campus (in El Cerrito). Both of our children started in the preschool and are now in elementary school. We didn't start our search looking for a Montessori school, but feel so lucky to have found it. The Montessori philosophy has all of the elements you mention Cb and through that, our children have grown in so many dimensions that I couldn't have anticipated. Check out the video on the home page: www.montessorifamily.com to see how MFS puts Montessori into action. It is really a wonderful spot. Highly Recommend MFS

Seeking schools that have no homework, or much less

We're looking for elementary, possibly middle, & possibly high schools that do not have homework or much less than the standard school. I've heard Beacon Day School doesn't have any for the K-5 years. Are there any others? Is it possible that any public schools follow that policy? How about middle school or even high school?

I keep reading more articles about the growing realization that homework does not make that much of a difference in how kids learn and test on various school subjects. As a parent of an elementary school child, I can see the benefits of learning time management, but frankly, the homework seems overly redundant and more like busy work. I'm also really feeling like homework takes away from the experiences outside of academics that really help to shape us as well rounded, critical thinkers.

Would love to hear of any schools that parents have found recognize that and have worked out a curriculum for that. DONE with homework

Check out The Renaissance School if you want a school that gives no homework. It's a pre-school through middle school Montessori school located in the Dimond District in Oakland. We too were appalled at the amount of homework even Kindergarteners get in many schools, both public and private, and have felt that The Renaissance School is refreshing in its approach to education. The Renaissance School has a wonderful program, including strong foreign language, music, and art. The elementary kids start their day at 8am with a half an hour of singing. The regular school day ends at 3:30pm for the elem kids, but they can stay as late as 6pm either continuing to work on things from earlier in the day, or engaging in many addition interesting activities. The only thing the elementary children are required to do outside of school is regular reading which we think is a good thing. TRS Parent

I assume that many have viewed the excellent film ''Race to Nowhere'' as it raises the issue of overworked kids. I'd recommend it to anyone who shares your concerns about saturating a young student's time. I am a college professor (15 years teaching) and I have seen in the past ten years freshmen students' capacity for reflection and unstructured problem-solving diminish severely and alarmingly. And, I think much of this problem is due to incredibly structured formative years -- homework, grades, and too many after school classes/activities at the expense of ''free'' time. I will be looking at the posts regarding your question about middle and high schools because I have the same concerns as you.

My own child attends Crestmont School (El Cerrito/Richmond hills). It is a K-5 Cooperative and supports the idea that kids and their families do interesting and educational things during free time. The cooperative nature of the school means parents are engaged in the education of their children and work with the teachers on all aspects of the school. Homework is limited in scope, it increases slightly by grade level to gently introduce the concept of organizing one's time and meeting deadlines as preparation for middle school. But the work is often given in a weekly packet (not daily) and is more creative than the worksheets that I see friends' children doing nightly for public school. My third grader is able to adjust his homework around other activities and he has time to play and relax after school. He actually has time to engage all of the educational toys and books that we have amassed over the years and that he works on self-initiated creative projects -- plus a little homework -- tells me that balance is there for him. My third grader chooses to film and edit his own movies, composes music, reads books, and builds ridiculously complicated Lego structures --all after school because he has time to do it. Crestmont honors the spirit of childhood encouraging fantasy, play, and imagination which I think allows each child's spirit to flourish in his or her young years and beyond. Crestmont has no formal grades nor tests and assessment is performed in written narratives, progress matrices, and parent-teacher meetings. If there are doubts about this style of education, Crestmont can show that our kids have historically done very well when they have matriculated to traditional academic settings in private or public middle schools. If you are interested in K-5, you can find more info about Crestmont at crestmontschool.org Parent at Crestmont

I'm glad you also asked about public schools, for there definitely are some that are actively moving away from having tons of homework. We have a 4th grader at a BUSD school in which the admin and teachers have made a school-wide commitment toward reducing homework for all the kids. Of course the actual homework will be somewhat dependent on the teacher, but I know that it's discussed, encouraged and facilitated at our school. Our son, for example, has reading to do and music he should practice daily, but other than that, he has about 15 minutes a day of something from a weekly packet. Occasionally he'll have a short math review page as well. He has plenty of time to play and relax after school and on weekends, which is absolutely essential for his mental health. [ours as well] Ask the principals/directors of the schools you tour, and ask about the policies per grade, and even if teachers have some leeway in what they assign. You may find out more specifically if a school has a ''no homework'' policy or actually just a ''minimal homework'' policy. Good luck! -happy BUSD parent

You should definitely take a look at The Berkeley School . I share your views on homework, and you will find that the teachers and administrators at TBS feel the same way. There is basically no homework prior to 4th grade, and very manageable amounts for 4th through 8th grades. More importantly, the homework that is sent home is always thoughtful, and builds on something being done during the school day/week rather than just being busy work. Our Head of School thinks that kids' homework should actually be ''the work of the home,'' as he calls it -- kids helping out, being with family, recharging their batteries. I am happy to talk to you personally about our experience at The Berkeley School if you would like. j.s

The Montessori Family School (MFS), 7075 Cutting Blvd., El Cerrito, 510-236-8802, has a very reasonable approach to homework. There is very little outside work in the early grades and it increases in a way that is manageable. I have relatives who attend public school in Berkeley and the West Contra Costa School Districts and the amount of homework they have from even kindergarten is very excessive. It really cuts into family time during the week when things are busy anyway. I was so happy to learn about MFS's policy of not piling on the homework so that students can enjoy their families and participate in activities that are educational within the context of family activities. I am relieved to know that we will not be robbed of family time while my child is a student at MFS. Give them a call and learn more. The school is great. Happy parent

I want to recommend Walden School in Berkeley as a school with a ''gentle'' homework policy. I am not sure what happens in K-3 at Walden because we have just started this year for the 4th grade. But homework in 4th grade is MUCH more reasonable and also MUCH more thoughtful than what we have experienced in public school or other private schools. There is reading a book of his choice every night, as in other schools. There is a weekly project due on Weds. customized to tie into instruction for the week. Example this week is writing about pros/cons of California's aqueduct system. Then there is one short nightly assignment which alternates between math and language arts that takes an inattentive, distracted kid 30-45 min., for example a couple pages in the math workbook. There is no busy work, no brainless discouraging stuff, none of the xeroxed sheets we'd grown used to in the past. Sometimes homework still doesn't get done, and the Walden teachers will sit with my son the next day to work on it. They also check his assignment book every day, adding notes as needed. I really like the way they do things at Walden. G.

Looking for schools with no homework policy

I'm encouraged that there are now discussions taking place about homework for grade school children. My daughter will be entering kindergarten in 2 years, and I am now researching schools, both public and private. Ideally, I would like her to be in a progressive school that does not assign homework for children until 6th grade. I know that Beacon Day School has such a policy, and I am wondering about others. Please share your knowledge of various schools' policies on homework, and at what grade assignment of homework begins. Thank you! Looking for recommendations

This is a very timely question. There was an essay by Peggy Orenstein in yesterday's New York Times magazine about finding an East Bay school for her child that does not give homework in kindergarten - see ''Kindergarten Cram'' http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/03/magazine/03wwln-lede-t.html?ref=magazine

I asked this question when I was looking at kindergartens three years ago, because I have already been through the homework nightmare with two older kids and was anxious to avoid it for as long as possible. At that time, Head Royce didn't give homework till 2nd or 3rd grade, and St. Paul's until 2nd. I'm sure there must be others as well (and you already know about Beacon.)

But if you don't want your 4 or 5 year old to have homework, then you probably are not going to like public school. My friends with kids in Berkeley and Oakland public schools have all been dealing with homework since the get-go. And there are some school districts that are even crazier. We have friends in the San Ramon school district whose kindergarter proudly showed us her homework, which was to write a story about what she did over the weekend and illustrate it. This was in the fall, at the beginning of the year! She did a lovely job, obviously a bright and talented child. But I was trying to picture my own son dealing with this assignment -- he could barely write his name legibly in kindergarten and couldn't compose a sentence until halfway through the 2nd grade. How would a kid like mine feel about daily pressure to do something he is not developmentally able to do? I imagine it would be very stressful and defeating.

My son is now in 2nd grade at St. Paul's, which we chose partly because of their homework policy, although it turned out that halfway through first grade, the kids began to get homework ''to prepare them for 2nd grade''. Argh. The homework assignments are modest, and expected to take only 15 or 20 minutes, but my child is not exactly Mr. Speedy when it comes to math and spelling, and who wants to come home from ''work'' anyway and do more work? Many days, resistance and procrastination can easily stretch a 15-minute task out to hours, often extending the school day well into dinner time. This is not fair to my kid or to our family life! I honestly don't see the point of homework until 4th grade at least.

I hope others on the list have suggestions for you about schools that are more enlightened about homework. Tired Mom

Ah, homework. Yeah, we hate it too, kind of.

As far as the policies in different schools go, our own public school experience has been that it largely depends on the teacher. Our school [a small BUSD school] sends home a sheet at the beginning of the year letting parents know what's expected and why, and honestly, I was surprised that it wasn't more. [I was told to expect a lot and, for my 2nd grader, it states 10 - 25 minutes].

In Kindergarten, my son had no homework to speak of, while the other class had a little packet of coloring that was due at the end of the week. First grade was the worst for us. While the other class had one or two [very easy] worksheets, my son's class had a [thoughtfully done] note of instructions, which required him to actually write stuff himself instead of just filling in worksheet blanks. For a kid who hates writing, it was the worst. This year, he has one or two worksheets [still only M-Th] which take him minutes to do. While I think they demand way less imagination than last year, they're also way easier. And, like last year, he's expected to spend some time reading.

The idea of homework - letting us know what they're up to in class, and developing habits that will take a kid into later school years - is OK with me. However, I'd like more clear flexibility and communication between parents and teachers about it. In first grade, for example, when my son had such a hard time due to his ''blank page'' anxiety, I wish the teacher had made it clear earlier on that we could help with the parts that were structurally difficult for our kids. It took us a long time to figure out that we, his parents, could turn his blank page into kind of a worksheet, which wasn't then so intimidating for him.

And about the time expectations - of course that's going to end up different for every child. My kid would take hours last year just fighting the process. Once he began it, the work itself didn't take long. We learned not to sweat it too much. His teachers seem to care more about it this year, although a lot of kids in our class still don't do it. One last note: at our school, the afterschool program has a guided 'academic hour' [after an hour of enrichment] during which the separate grades read and work on homework. When my son goes, he almost always finishes his work, with no complaints. -j

My experience at Berkeley Montessori has been no homework until 4th grade, and not a ton of it then. Even better, when my kids were in first through third grades the teachers would talk to them about ''homework'' being the work you do at home, and encourage the kids to talk about the kinds of things they did at home as contributing members of their family. Setting the table, making their beds, helping with dishes, emptying the waste baskets...kids all had different things that they did that varied with their ages and their families, but I really liked how talking about it this way both set an expectation about kids helping out and honored their contributions. Ann

Like you, we don't feel that homework is helpful to our young kids. Happily, we have found a school that doesn't assign homework until 4th grade (and then not very much), and de-emphasizes testing and grades, while emphasizing individualized learning. The school is Berkeley Montessori School , which has a campus for 3- and 4-year-olds and another for K-8. Their website is http://www.bmsonline.org/. A happy BMS family that enjoys our homework-free evenings together

My son's alternative school doesn't have grades, tests, or homework. Kids decide what they're interested in learning.

  • I decided to send my son, Jasper, to a K-12 school called the Arts and Ideas Sudbury School.
  • The school is based on a philosophy that allow kids to make their own decisions about education.
  • It has no grades, tests, or homework.

Insider Today

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Adrienne Bergthold. It has been edited for length and clarity.

When my youngest son, Jasper, was getting ready for kindergarten, I was struggling with where to send him to school. I'd always viewed school as an opportunity to instill a love of learning, and I felt like public school was too stressful for kids because of all the pressure around grades, homework, and tests. Private school is expensive , and I didn't have the patience to homeschool. So I started to consider affordable alternative schooling options in our area.

I first heard about a local K-12 school called the Arts and Ideas Sudbury School from another mom I was talking to at the park when Jasper was little. I didn't think much of it until I happened to hear the founder talking about the school on the radio. The principles of giving kids the freedom to learn about what they're interested in, without the added stress of grades and tests, really resonated with me.

Arts and Ideas seemed like the right school for Jasper

I looked into it a bit more, and Arts and Ideas seemed like the perfect fit. It was only five minutes from our house, and it was much more affordable than private schools in our area. Before making a decision, I signed up Jasper for the visiting week for families to check out the school before enrolling . After a week of visiting, he was telling me about fractions and holding doors open for me.

He started kindergarten there in 2010 and graduated just last year, in 2023. From kindergarten on, Jasper had so many opportunities to learn how to live in the real world. Arts and Ideas is a Sudbury School , which is a worldwide educational philosophy that allows kids to make decisions about their own education. Along with making and enforcing the school rules together, students can choose what they want to learn about and how.

It's not formatted like a traditional school

At Arts and Ideas, there's no curriculum or formal classrooms. Kids learn by playing and doing what they're interested in. Rather than "teachers," the school has staff members who guide the students in what they want to learn. Instead of sitting in a classroom all day, students have the freedom to play outside, work on a project, or attend workshops on topics they want to learn about, including creative writing, acting, math, and coding.

There's a bulletin board in the hallway where kids can sign up for activities to participate in. If the kids express interest in something they want to learn, the staff and students will work together to organize new workshops. Sometimes, the workshops are at school, and other times they're field trips. Baltimore and the surrounding area have a lot to offer, so the opportunities feel endless.

For example, my son was interested in cooking from a young age because his dad was a baker. Jasper was involved in the school's Kitchen Corp, which cooked hot lunch every Friday. The students would work together to find out what everyone wanted to eat, plan the meals, take field trips to get ingredients at the local grocery store, and cook in the school kitchen for all the students. Jasper got to pursue his interest in cooking, but he also learned important real-life skills like organization, budgeting, math, and teamwork.

There are no grades, tests, homework , or other requirements, which takes stress out of the equation so kids can really fall in love with learning. The only requirement is that students need to attend school for five consecutive hours, including the "core hours" of 11–3 p.m. Students are totally free to do what they want during the school day, except for a few scheduled activities, such as daily chores and school-wide meetings.

Because there are no traditional classrooms , students are with kids who are both older and younger than them all day, which I believe helps everyone learn. Younger kids can learn from older students, and older students have the opportunity to help and mentor younger ones. When my son attended visiting week, for example, he learned fractions from kids who knew math.

To receive a diploma, students write and defend a thesis about how they've prepared to enter the real world. My son graduated in 2023, and he's currently taking a gap year before attending college. His experience at Arts and Ideas helped him get ready for life in the real world.

But more than that, Arts and Ideas gave Jasper a happy childhood and helped him grow into a secure adult. We have so many opportunities to do the work throughout our lives, and childhood should be about joy. Because of his education, I can say my son experienced a childhood free from the stress of anything but getting to know himself.

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The end of homework? Why some schools are banning homework

Fed up with the tension over homework, some schools are opting out altogether.

No-homework policies are popping up all over, including schools in the U.S., where the shift to the Common Core curriculum is prompting educators to rethink how students spend their time.

“Homework really is a black hole,” said Etta Kralovec, an associate professor of teacher education at the University of Arizona South and co-author of “The End of Homework: How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning.”

“I think teachers are going to be increasingly interested in having total control over student learning during the class day and not relying on homework as any kind of activity that’s going to support student learning.”

College de Saint-Ambroise, an elementary school in Quebec, is the latest school to ban homework, announcing this week that it would try the new policy for a year. The decision came after officials found that it was “becoming more and more difficult” for children to devote time to all the assignments they were bringing home, Marie-Ève Desrosiers, a spokeswoman with the Jonquière School Board, told the CBC .

Kralovec called the ban on homework a movement, though she estimated just a small handful of schools in the U.S. have such policies.

Gaithersburg Elementary School in Rockville, Maryland, is one of them, eliminating the traditional concept of homework in 2012. The policy is still in place and working fine, Principal Stephanie Brant told TODAY Parents. The school simply asks that students read 30 minutes each night.

“We felt like with the shift to the Common Core curriculum, and our knowledge of how our students need to think differently… we wanted their time to be spent in meaningful ways,” Brant said.

“We’re constantly asking parents for feedback… and everyone’s really happy with it so far. But it’s really a culture shift.”

Father helping daughter with homework

It was a decision that was best for her community, Brant said, adding that she often gets phone calls from other principals inquiring how it’s working out.

The VanDamme Academy, a private K-8 school in Aliso Viejo, California, has a similar policy , calling homework “largely pointless.”

The Buffalo Academy of Scholars, a private school in Buffalo, New York, touts that it has called “a truce in the homework battle” and promises that families can “enjoy stress-free, homework-free evenings and more quality time together at home.”

Some schools have taken yet another approach. At Ridgewood High School in Norridge, Illinois, teachers do assign homework but it doesn’t count towards a student’s final grade.

Many schools in the U.S. have toyed with the idea of opting out of homework, but end up changing nothing because it is such a contentious issue among parents, Kralovec noted.

“There’s a huge philosophical divide between parents who want their kids to be very scheduled, very driven, and very ambitiously focused at school -- those parents want their kids to do homework,” she said.

“And then there are the parents who want a more child-centered life with their kids, who want their kids to be able to explore different aspects of themselves, who think their kids should have free time.”

So what’s the right amount of time to spend on homework?

National PTA spokeswoman Heidi May pointed to the organization’s “ 10 minute rule ,” which recommends kids spend about 10 minutes on homework per night for every year they’re in school. That would mean 10 minutes for a first-grader and an hour for a child in the sixth grade.

But many parents say their kids must spend much longer on their assignments. Last year, a New York dad tried to do his eight-grader’s homework for a week and it took him at least three hours on most nights.

More than 80 percent of respondents in a TODAY.com poll complained kids have too much homework. For homework critics like Kralovec, who said research shows homework has little value at the elementary and middle school level, the issue is simple.

“Kids are at school 7 or 8 hours a day, that’s a full working day and why should they have to take work home?” she asked.

Follow A. Pawlowski on Google+ and Twitter .

Should Kids Get Homework?

Homework gives elementary students a way to practice concepts, but too much can be harmful, experts say.

Mother helping son with homework at home

Getty Images

Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful.

How much homework students should get has long been a source of debate among parents and educators. In recent years, some districts have even implemented no-homework policies, as students juggle sports, music and other activities after school.

Parents of elementary school students, in particular, have argued that after-school hours should be spent with family or playing outside rather than completing assignments. And there is little research to show that homework improves academic achievement for elementary students.

But some experts say there's value in homework, even for younger students. When done well, it can help students practice core concepts and develop study habits and time management skills. The key to effective homework, they say, is keeping assignments related to classroom learning, and tailoring the amount by age: Many experts suggest no homework for kindergartners, and little to none in first and second grade.

Value of Homework

Homework provides a chance to solidify what is being taught in the classroom that day, week or unit. Practice matters, says Janine Bempechat, clinical professor at Boston University 's Wheelock College of Education & Human Development.

"There really is no other domain of human ability where anybody would say you don't need to practice," she adds. "We have children practicing piano and we have children going to sports practice several days a week after school. You name the domain of ability and practice is in there."

Homework is also the place where schools and families most frequently intersect.

"The children are bringing things from the school into the home," says Paula S. Fass, professor emerita of history at the University of California—Berkeley and the author of "The End of American Childhood." "Before the pandemic, (homework) was the only real sense that parents had to what was going on in schools."

Harris Cooper, professor emeritus of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University and author of "The Battle Over Homework," examined more than 60 research studies on homework between 1987 and 2003 and found that — when designed properly — homework can lead to greater student success. Too much, however, is harmful. And homework has a greater positive effect on students in secondary school (grades 7-12) than those in elementary.

"Every child should be doing homework, but the amount and type that they're doing should be appropriate for their developmental level," he says. "For teachers, it's a balancing act. Doing away with homework completely is not in the best interest of children and families. But overburdening families with homework is also not in the child's or a family's best interest."

Negative Homework Assignments

Not all homework for elementary students involves completing a worksheet. Assignments can be fun, says Cooper, like having students visit educational locations, keep statistics on their favorite sports teams, read for pleasure or even help their parents grocery shop. The point is to show students that activities done outside of school can relate to subjects learned in the classroom.

But assignments that are just busy work, that force students to learn new concepts at home, or that are overly time-consuming can be counterproductive, experts say.

Homework that's just busy work.

Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful, experts say. Assignments that look more like busy work – projects or worksheets that don't require teacher feedback and aren't related to topics learned in the classroom – can be frustrating for students and create burdens for families.

"The mental health piece has definitely played a role here over the last couple of years during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the last thing we want to do is frustrate students with busy work or homework that makes no sense," says Dave Steckler, principal of Red Trail Elementary School in Mandan, North Dakota.

Homework on material that kids haven't learned yet.

With the pressure to cover all topics on standardized tests and limited time during the school day, some teachers assign homework that has not yet been taught in the classroom.

Not only does this create stress, but it also causes equity challenges. Some parents speak languages other than English or work several jobs, and they aren't able to help teach their children new concepts.

" It just becomes agony for both parents and the kids to get through this worksheet, and the goal becomes getting to the bottom of (the) worksheet with answers filled in without any understanding of what any of it matters for," says professor Susan R. Goldman, co-director of the Learning Sciences Research Institute at the University of Illinois—Chicago .

Homework that's overly time-consuming.

The standard homework guideline recommended by the National Parent Teacher Association and the National Education Association is the "10-minute rule" – 10 minutes of nightly homework per grade level. A fourth grader, for instance, would receive a total of 40 minutes of homework per night.

But this does not always happen, especially since not every student learns the same. A 2015 study published in the American Journal of Family Therapy found that primary school children actually received three times the recommended amount of homework — and that family stress increased along with the homework load.

Young children can only remain attentive for short periods, so large amounts of homework, especially lengthy projects, can negatively affect students' views on school. Some individual long-term projects – like having to build a replica city, for example – typically become an assignment for parents rather than students, Fass says.

"It's one thing to assign a project like that in which several kids are working on it together," she adds. "In (that) case, the kids do normally work on it. It's another to send it home to the families, where it becomes a burden and doesn't really accomplish very much."

Private vs. Public Schools

Do private schools assign more homework than public schools? There's little research on the issue, but experts say private school parents may be more accepting of homework, seeing it as a sign of academic rigor.

Of course, not all private schools are the same – some focus on college preparation and traditional academics, while others stress alternative approaches to education.

"I think in the academically oriented private schools, there's more support for homework from parents," says Gerald K. LeTendre, chair of educational administration at Pennsylvania State University—University Park . "I don't know if there's any research to show there's more homework, but it's less of a contentious issue."

How to Address Homework Overload

First, assess if the workload takes as long as it appears. Sometimes children may start working on a homework assignment, wander away and come back later, Cooper says.

"Parents don't see it, but they know that their child has started doing their homework four hours ago and still not done it," he adds. "They don't see that there are those four hours where their child was doing lots of other things. So the homework assignment itself actually is not four hours long. It's the way the child is approaching it."

But if homework is becoming stressful or workload is excessive, experts suggest parents first approach the teacher, followed by a school administrator.

"Many times, we can solve a lot of issues by having conversations," Steckler says, including by "sitting down, talking about the amount of homework, and what's appropriate and not appropriate."

Study Tips for High School Students

High angle view of young woman sitting at desk and studying at home during coronavirus lockdown

Tags: K-12 education , students , elementary school , children

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At Elite Schools, Easing Up a Bit on Homework

By Jenny Anderson

  • Oct. 23, 2011

It was the kind of memo that high school students would dream of getting, if they dreamed in memos.

Lisa Waller, director of the high school at Dalton, a famously rigorous private school on the Upper East Side, sent a letter to parents this summer announcing that tests and papers would be staggered to make sure students did not become overloaded. January midterms would be pushed back two weeks so students would not have to study during vacation.

Across town at the Trinity School, another of Manhattan’s elite academies, the administration has formed a task force to examine workload, and the upper school, grades 9 to 12, has been trying ways to coordinate test-taking with papers, labs and other projects.

Horace Mann School, in the Bronx, opened a tutoring center this year to help students manage their work. Hunter College High School, which has a tough admissions exam, is for the first time this year offering homework holidays, on Halloween, the Chinese New Year (Jan. 23) and a day nearer spring, March 14.

Armed with neuroscience, self-analysis and common sense, some of New York City’s most competitive high schools, famed for their Marine-like mentality when it comes to homework, have begun to lighten the load for fear of crushing their teenage charges.

“We have incredibly talented high-achieving kids who need to be appropriately taken care of,” said Jessica Bagby, the head of Trinity’s upper school. “We realize the pressures on them, and to the degree that we’re complicit, we need to own that.”

Homework debates are both evergreen and charged in top-tier schools, but several private-school watchers say the recent moves to ease up are a marked shift. There remains a significant cadre of parents — call it the Tiger Mom camp — who see hard work as a rite of passage, part of what they pay $40,000 for and essential to making their children competitive. (One father commented wryly that it was unlikely that parents in India and China were fretting about overwork.)

But for the first time in recent memory, many see an edge by the other camp, fueled in part by the 2010 documentary “ Race to Nowhere ,” which focuses on the detrimental effects of overprogramming students who lack sleep and joy.

“There’s very little evidence that doing homework makes kids smarter,” said Adam Gopnik, an author and parent of two Dalton students. “Even if it did, there are values other than achievement. For example, let’s be curious.”

Mr. Gopnik did extensive research a few years ago when a group of Dalton parents engaged the administration in a discussion about homework loads. Broadly speaking, the research shows what logic might dictate: It is counterproductive for children to be up at 2 a.m. studying.

Dalton invited Harris Cooper, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at Duke University, to speak last spring about the link between homework and learning. “At five hours a night,” he said of the homework burden, “they likely won’t do any worse if they only bring home four.”

private schools no homework

Teachers, parents and administrators are also beginning to look beyond the academic questions, studying research about the health effects of overscheduling and stress.

Denise Pope , a senior lecturer at the Stanford School of Education, co-authored a 2007 paper that looked at 496 students at one private and one public school and found that those with more than 3.5 hours of homework a night had an increased risk of physical and mental health issues, like sleep deprivation, ulcers and headaches. In a separate study of 26 schools, Ms. Pope said, 67 percent of more than 10,000 students reported that they were “often” or “always” stressed out.

“At some point, we say too much is too much,” Ms. Pope said. “In our study, that’s 3.5 hours.”

Not all schools, of course, are scaling back. Many administrators say the workload is critical preparation for success in college and in life, and a hallmark of their histories that helps draw hundreds of applicants every year. They point to parents, some of them alumni of the schools, who see heavy backpacks and demanding assignments as important signs of the schools’ seriousness and value.

And even at some of the schools making official statements or adjusting schedules, some parents see it as lip service.

“There’s nothing wrong with homework,” said Victoria Goldman, a parent of two children who attended private New York City schools and the author of “Manhattan Family Guide to Private Schools and Selective Public Schools.”

“These are the most competitive schools in the country,” Ms. Goldman continued. “It’s reinforcing what they are learning, and they are learning at the highest level you could possibly teach middle and high school kids.”

At Horace Mann, the student newspaper had an article last year showing that the average upper-school student slept 6.5 hours a night.

At other schools, administrators said they were serious about changing the culture.

A group of faculty members, students and administrators at Dalton last year devised what Ms. Waller called a “five-week assessment rotation,” in which major tests and papers are spread out over five weeks, after puzzling over why students had some weeks that were reasonable and others packed with exams and due dates.

Trinity is taking more tentative steps. During an intense self-assessment last year, surveys of parents, faculty members, students, alumni and administrators suggested that balance needed improvement. But when students were asked, anonymously, whether the amount of homework assigned was reasonable, the responses varied: 47 percent of 11th graders disagreed or strongly disagreed, compared with 35 percent of 12th graders and less than 30 percent of ninth graders.

That range convinced Ms. Bagby, the head of the upper school, that the school had to evaluate the issue better before making any major changes. Her biggest concern was lack of sleep. Trinity began the 2010-11 school year with a sleep expert who made clear that losing sleep meant losing productivity. “I think the students thought it was a little ironic,” Ms. Bagby noted wryly.

If understanding the pressure students face is a work in progress, the message that Trinity hopes to exert a little less of it is nonetheless being widely broadcast. One mother, speaking on the condition of anonymity because her child is applying to the school, said that during a tour with prospective kindergarten parents the head of the lower school said that she knew the school had a reputation as a pressure-cooker, but that it was becoming more “humane.”

Mr. Gopnik, the Dalton parent, said: “The wind is blowing in the direction of sanity. There’s no value in stressing kids out. You are robbing them of their childhood.”

An article on Monday about some competitive New York City high schools that are working to address student stress by assigning less homework misidentified, in some editions, a high school that is offering homework holidays and misstated that school’s relationship with Hunter College. It is Hunter College High School, not Manhattan Hunter Science High School. And it is administered by Hunter College; it is not a “public-school partnership with Hunter College.”

How we handle corrections

Why I’m a Public-School Teacher but a Private-School Parent

It’s not selling out; it’s buying in.

private schools no homework

Last week, I observed a high-school English class on a campus without bells. The school didn’t need them: Every student showed up for class promptly, and they remained attentive until the last minute—without packing their books early or lining up at the door. San Luis Obispo Classical Academy (SLOCA) is a private school in Central California that promotes "personal character" and "love of learning," and the tangible difference between this environment and that at the public high school in the area was stunning to me—even though I'm a veteran public-school teacher. And even though my own daughter is in her second year of preschool at SLOCA.

I’ve also spent the last four decades exclusively at public schools—either attending them, coaching at them, or teaching at them. I have dedicated my life to them, as have all of my good friends. I even superficially loathe the local Catholic school for its elitist attitudes and alleged recruiting techniques. But as my daughter embarks on her K-12 journey, my wife and I are leaning toward this small, 322-student private school for one really simple reason: The kids take pride in their personal character, and they admit that they love learning.

My 4-year-old daughter, for now, is just like them. And I’ve always found that it’s exponentially more fun, fulfilling, and productive to engage in activities with other people who have "bought in" to whatever they’re doing with the same level of enthusiasm. For me, this has been true in grad school, baseball practice, watching football on TV—anything, really. For my daughter, this happens when she’s learning about personification, reciting poetry, and being a good human.

Personally, I was struck by the degree of student buy-in at SLOCA—which serves just 32 high-school students—compared to a typical public school nearby. In 90 minutes of observing the private-school class, there were zero interruptions, zero yawns, and zero cell phones. All 15 students, ranging from sophomores to seniors, had their homework successfully reviewed within the first five minutes of class; they all had their pens and notepads in front of them without being asked. As I listened to their interactions, it became clear, too, that they were engaged. They laughed when one of them made a joke about Frederick II being excommunicated a second time, and they lightly knocked on their desks when they liked a classmate's comment—a delightful custom I had never heard of. Each of them, moreover, answered a question from the teacher at least twice. Other than these moments, there was no noise, not a single distraction—and I was struck by the apparent absence of gender lines or observable differences between the youngest and oldest students in the class. Throughout those 90 minutes, they seemed like a group of old friends, united by a love of learning.

That the teacher was fluent in that day’s topic, the Holy Roman Empire, was clear in at least two ways: One, she answered every question thoroughly, without hesitation; two, I could actually hear every word she said, in the tone and volume she intended. She didn't have to yell to be heard, and she didn't speak quickly in fear of interruption. She could subtly emphasize certain words, and her jokes landed. Observing this class, I started daydreaming about what, if given the chance, I would teach these kids—not how I would teach these kids.

As I am writing this, I am observing a different class—one at the 825-student public high school where I teach. The educator’s passion is evident, and his typed lesson plans are immaculate and thoughtful. It's not completely clear how fluent he is in the subject matter, however, because he has been interrupted or distracted by 20 things in 20 minutes: a pencil being sharpened, a paper bag being crumpled and tossed, a few irrelevant jokes that ignite several side conversations, a tardy student sauntering in with a smirk, a student feeding yogurt to a friend, a random class clown outside the window, and the subsequent need to lower the blinds, to name a few. The teacher is probably distracted by a disconcerting suspicion that he’s talking primarily to himself. For the past half hour, I've been thinking about how I would teach this class—not what I would teach this class.

I know most of the kids in this public school: They're not hurtful or malicious, and most of them aren't even consciously rude. They’re just "cool" by default, the opposite of being intrinsically "stoked" or "pumped" (to borrow a few words from their vocabulary) about learning. It’s not a classroom-management issue in this case. The teacher could outlaw food and cellphones, but there would still be jokes, fidgeting, students with passes to or from another place—something to distract them. No matter how diligently he teaches them about the appropriate time to sharpen a pencil, there will still be this culture of coolness, the norm of disengagement.

SLOCA charges between roughly $3,000 and $7,000 per student in annual tuition—thousands less than the average cost of private high schools in the Western U.S. , which according to some estimates is $29,000. And according to school figures, SLOCA also doles out $50,000 a year in need-based scholarships, as well as about $52,000 in tuition discounts. Granted, SLOCA’s tuition is probably too high for many families, but I don’t think the cost of attendance explains why SLOCA is such a special place—the biggest visible difference between my public-school students and their counterparts at SLOCA has little to do with money or natural brilliance (or, if it does, it isn't apparent or even relevant to me). Just like their public-school peers, the kids at SLOCA wear jeans and hoodies, and none of them seem to be any kind of genius; in fact, one of them was a student of mine at the public school, which he still attends part-time (I’ll get to him later). The biggest visible difference is that, at SLOCA, personal engagement is "cool." And any interruption is going to annoy everybody—not just the teacher.

In general, the teens at the public school don’t appear to have bought into an educational environment like that at SLOCA—and for good reason: There's nothing to buy. It’s difficult for them to show personal choice in their schooling because they’re obligated to be there regardless of whether they want to. As in many states, California law explicitly prohibits the school from requiring that parents pay for anything ; at this particular institution, the administration even forbade an English teacher from asking parents to buy their kids tickets to an inexpensive play. After tax dollars, support for everything from extracurriculars to learning materials is expected to come through fundraisers, and schools can’t require that the students—the actual beneficiaries—participate in the fundraisers themselves. I completely understand and support the valid reasons behind these kinds of rules, both on conflict-of-interest grounds and, especially, in defense of equality. To me, however, that doesn’t negate the unfortunate, unintended consequence: When the kids aren’t obligated to invest their time and energy in a group project, they’re allowed to play it cool.

Meanwhile, at SLOCA, the students—if only because they’re attending the school—seem to declare that they want an academic experience unavailable at mainstream institutions. Though SLOCA does have a few small athletic teams and host a couple of dances, the students here visibly favor their studious environment—one that lacks the gyms and swimming pools and other fun amenities available at some public schools. During the day, they’re willing to surrender their personal technology—phones are prohibited during school hours—and, presumably, the intimate gossip that comes with those devices. According to one teacher, "none of them date each other" because "it would be weird for them [in this environment]."

Likewise, if the parents are paying tuition at an independent school—one that advertises an alternative approach to education and promotes a "love of learning" as its cornerstone—they are publicly claiming a stake in a specific curriculum and pedagogy.  They’re not simply accepting the title of "stakeholder" at the school that’s chosen for their kids because of, say, geography. And they’re not choosing the school because of something like superior facilities, either; SLOCA’s campus doesn’t boast any material advantage over nearby public schools. Far from it: SLOCA’s campus sits on an old elementary school that the district abandoned years ago and is now leasing out on a temporary basis. In fact, the district now wants the buildings back to establish a new public elementary school for academically accelerated students , meaning that SLOCA will have to relocate again. Undeterred, the parents continue to give it their time and money.

I noticed the same effect of "buying in" when I used to teach Advanced Placement English at another public school. By law, anyone was allowed to take the class, but the school encouraged every interested student to get a signature from a former teacher to vouch for his or her qualifications. The simple act of taking the initiative to procure a signature was enough to show "buy-in": On the first day of school, every student had made a tiny but significant act that showed that they had chosen to be in this class. This served as implicit evidence that they cared about their education, at least a little bit.

I was once one of those students. As a teenager enrolled in a public high school in Northern California, I often wore a T-shirt with an angel proclaiming "Do not trust the government!" and earned the average grades that came relatively easy to me. Near the time of graduation, my father told me that he saw no point in investing in my college tuition because academics were clearly not my priority. So I started bussing tables and save up money for college on my own, and once it was me paying for my own education, I was angry rather than relieved when a professor canceled class; I constantly calculated how much each hour was costing me, and my grades skyrocketed.

Today, despite my excitement about kids who " geek out " about education, I hope my empathy for and belief in public-school students are evident, if only for my choice of occupation. I’m not trying to be combative, but I do find it ironic that many people who argue against private schools work in the private sector. For 20 years, I have deliberately invested my life in teaching public-school kids, coaching them, and advocating for the ones who don’t have the same support that other kids have. In fact, I chose to teach in a public high school precisely because I pitied the children who felt forced to be at school, who felt trapped like I did when I was their age. I spend my own time and money advising clubs, tutoring those who struggle with English, helping students apply for college, and, sometimes, feeding kids who aren’t sure if they’re going to have dinner. On a daily basis, even as I’m surrounded by a million competing interests and distractions, I work hard to make their compulsory experience something for which they would volunteer.

And I should note that, in expressing my concern about public schools, I’m not talking about individual students—all of whom I care for, respect, and support. Most of these kids are wonderful people, and some of them are fantastic students. Nor am I talking about individual teachers or classes. After all, statistics show that public-school teachers have comparably more classroom experience and qualifications. From what I’ve seen, public-school teachers are just as talented as, if not more talented than, their private-school counterparts; I’ve observed countless public-school classes in which students were, indeed, "stoked" about a particular lesson. And private schools for their part undoubtedly have bouts of misbehavior and poor choices.

I am, however, concerned about the general culture at public schools—at least at the ones I’ve seen—of disengagement and compulsory learning. So when it comes to my daughter, I opt to invest a little more—to ensure she’s immersed in a community where it’s acceptable, and even admirable, to show natural enthusiasm for knowledge. I trust this particular private school, one that was created by like-minded parents, will best set her up for success. After all, numerous studies corroborate what teachers and parents have always observed: A student’s habits and beliefs are significantly affected by his or her friends. Schools like SLOCA, fantastic as it may seem, are possible as long as the students and their parents are willing to buy in. Unfortunately, the critical mass of engaged students and parents that’s integral to creating this environment seems to be lacking at many of today’s public schools. And it may be impossible to attain when everything is both free and compulsory.

Of course, everything I’ve said until now is from my perspective as a parent and teacher. So, wanting to see what an actual student has to say about the issue, I recently sat down with the aforementioned teen who, as part of a unique arrangement, continues to attend the public school where I teach while taking a couple of classes at SLOCA. A typical junior who has a 3.4 GPA and takes few honors courses, the student emphasized that while he really likes his peers and teachers—and the opportunities he has to play soccer—at the public school, he prefers the classes at the academy. "At SLOCA, the kids really want to learn, and they want to be focused," he told me. "At [the public school], some kids don’t, and that puts a damper on things. And then the teachers unfortunately focus on [those kids]." He used the word "damper" again when I asked, hypothetically, what would happen if a SLOCA class were infused with 10 additional disengaged students. And that same word came up yet again when I asked him about ways in which public schools should handle the distracting "cool" kids who pollute classroom environments: "There’s no way to change that. You’d have to take them out of the class, but you don’t have the right to segregate them. Who gets to decide who’s putting the damper on [whom]?"

He’s right: Nobody gets to decide who puts the damper on whom. As taxpayers and citizens, American individuals are entitled to pursuing their own happiness, whether that entails an emphasis on athletics, church, real estate, you name it. For my family, we choose to emphasize a specific learning environment. And though we’re by no means martyrs for carving out $600 a month for tuition and aren’t sacrificing in the same way that many disadvantaged families do , we’re certainly not frittering away our disposable income in an attempt to give our daughter an unfair advantage. We’ve simply made a choice, and that in part means we live in a modest apartment designed for college students.

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Of course, not everyone agrees with me. Vox editor Matthew Yglesias claims the country should tax private schools even more because, "At best private school is a private consumption good, like buying your kids expensive clothes." Gawker writer John Cook argues that private school should be illegal . A "public school dad" recently published a " plea to private school parents " on ABC.com that efforts like mine to "get the best education possible in the land of the free … sucks on a bunch of levels." And at least 70,000 people on Facebook liked the " manifesto " against private schools written by Slate senior editor Allison Benedikt, whose many points included: "If you send your kid to private school" then you are "a bad person … ruining one of our nation’s most essential institutions."

Public schools have my tax money, my lifelong employment, and almost anything else they need of me; pulling my daughter—one student—out of the system is probably the least of its worries. And on a more abstract level, the above criticisms fail to acknowledge the cumbersome, almost fixed nature of the dominant culture I’ve seen at public schools—one that occasionally isolates students who love learning, are teased by the "cool" kids and even bullied into joining the masses. No matter how much she voluntarily recites Shakespeare, the student I envision my daughter becoming would never be able to single-handedly transform a public school into an environment that is cool to learning.

These private-school critics, of course, are free to do whatever they want with her own personal time and money. Admitting that she’s "judgemental," Benedikt says one reason she "feels so strongly about public schools" is that, while some teens like to read Walt Whitman, "getting drunk before basketball games … did the same thing" for her. My girl deserves to be in a place where she won’t face diatribes from judgmental students who call her names just because she chooses to buy into her own educational aspirations. She should have the opportunity to read Whitman with sober, like-minded friends knowing that they, too, are getting what they bought in for.

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School banks on no-homework policy, longer school day to fight underperformance

Growing debate among teachers, parents on homework

Growing debate among teachers, parents on homework

Carley Shimkus weighs in

There are two words all students love to hear from their teacher: ‘no homework’.

A Massachusetts school is saying just that to students as they are returning to classes, but it’s not being done entirely to create extra time for after-school fun in the last few days of summer – it’s part of a bid to turn around less-than-stellar performance.

“At my school, it was like ‘go big or go home,’” said Jacqueline Glasheen, the principal of Kelly Full Service Community School in Holyoke. “We have to do something different.”

The kindergarten through eighth grade school in western Massachusetts is part of a public district that went into receivership in April 2015 after the state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education labeled it chronically underperforming.

“My school in particular has made slight gains, but my kids are well below the proficiency line,” Glasheen told FoxNews.com. Education Commissioner Mitchell Chester said last year that only one in three children in Holyoke public schools are reading at grade level, while Glasheen noted that 98 percent of the student body is enrolled in a free or assisted lunch program.

Now the school hopes that the no-homework policy, coupled with an extended, eight-hour school day – which for some of its younger students is two hours longer than past years – will raise performance in the classroom.

“We are doing this not because we don’t think kids need homework, but because we think we are giving kids very rigorous instruction for eight hours,” Glasheen told FoxNews.com. “We want them to hang out with families, have dinner, do extracurricular activities and go to bed.”

“We constantly hear from educators that they need more time” — Jacqueline Reis, media relations coordinator for Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

In addition to extended recess periods, the school is intending to provide more targeted learning time for struggling students in the form of small group instruction and one-on-one sessions with teachers.

The changes made from the way instruction was handled in past years are key as to whether or not the program will succeed, according to Thomas Hatch, an associate professor of education and co-director of the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching at the Teachers College at Columbia University.

“The essential thing in all of this is not necessarily how much time you spend in school or out, but what you do with that time,” Hatch told FoxNews.com. “You can’t say just because your school day is longer your kids are going to perform better.”

A 2006 study published in the Review of Educational Research journal found that the average student in classes where homework was given would score 23 points higher on tests compared to students in classes where homework was not.

kelly-school-classroom

A classroom at the Kelly Full Service Community School. Administrators there hope that a new no homework policy, combined with a longer school day this upcoming year will improve students' performance in the classroom. (Kelly Full Service Community School)

“If a district or school discards homework altogether, however, it will be throwing away a powerful instructional tool,” Robert Marzano, who leads an educational research company, wrote in an article for Educational Leadership magazine .

“Perhaps the most important advantage of homework is that it can enhance achievement by extending learning beyond the school day,” he added.

Students aren’t the only ones seeing changes this year, as teachers in Holyoke are facing an extended workday as well.

Glasheen says the switch into receivership “took away many of the powers of the local unions” regarding how the district would operate going forward, but added that the two union representatives on her staff were in favor of the no homework policy. Teachers will be getting extra compensation out of the school’s budget as part of a deal worked out with the state receiver, she added.

Hatch says the added time in the classroom could relieve some pressure teachers are facing.

“If students are doing better and they find out kids are making progress in ways they didn’t know before, that could go a long way in terms of helping out teacher burnout,” he told FoxNews.com.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said it isn’t aware of other schools in receivership having a no-homework policy, but the shift to a longer day is “an effective ingredient for school turnaround.

“We constantly hear from educators that they need more time,” Jacqueline Reis, the department’s media relations coordinator, told FoxNews.com.

The Buffalo Academy of Scholars, a private school that already has a no-homework policy, says its structure where students complete assignments under supervision by teachers during the day is getting positive feedback from parents.

“Completing the work in school eliminates the frustration students and their families have when a student lacks the knowledge to complete the work without adult help, the challenge parents face when assigned work differs from the work they completed as students, and ultimately removes a major stressor for the student and family,” Executive Director Meg Keller-Cogan told FoxNews.com.

In Texas, a teacher at the Godley Elementary School in Johnson County wrote in a letter sent home to students that there would be no homework given in her class this year because "research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance." The note has since gone viral.

The changes at the Holyoke school this year will be evaluated next summer.

But for now, the switch to a no-homework policy will make it easier for parents as the school year begins.

“It’s one less thing off parents’ plates,” Glasheen said.

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private schools no homework

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Your One Stop Shop for All things Gifted

No homework? What’s happening to our education system?

Over the last few years, I’ve seen a rapidly growing trend against homework take hold in US schools — both public and private.  Highly acclaimed public school districts have even been rumored to give this fad a whirl.  The theory, I’ve heard, is that students would benefit more from 15 minutes per day of reading and a good night’s sleep than homework. ​Albeit, I can’t argue that a well-rested student is necessary to ensure successful learning in the classroom, but I’m not sure when these responsibilities became mutually exclusive or when we stopped expecting children — and adults — to read as a simple part of daily life. 

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private schools no homework

Home » Tips for Teachers » 7 Research-Based Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework: Academic Insights, Opposing Perspectives & Alternatives

7 Research-Based Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework: Academic Insights, Opposing Perspectives & Alternatives

In recent years, the question of why students should not have homework has become a topic of intense debate among educators, parents, and students themselves. This discussion stems from a growing body of research that challenges the traditional view of homework as an essential component of academic success. The notion that homework is an integral part of learning is being reevaluated in light of new findings about its effectiveness and impact on students’ overall well-being.

Why Students Should Not Have Homework

The push against homework is not just about the hours spent on completing assignments; it’s about rethinking the role of education in fostering the well-rounded development of young individuals. Critics argue that homework, particularly in excessive amounts, can lead to negative outcomes such as stress, burnout, and a diminished love for learning. Moreover, it often disproportionately affects students from disadvantaged backgrounds, exacerbating educational inequities. The debate also highlights the importance of allowing children to have enough free time for play, exploration, and family interaction, which are crucial for their social and emotional development.

Checking 13yo’s math homework & I have just one question. I can catch mistakes & help her correct. But what do kids do when their parent isn’t an Algebra teacher? Answer: They get frustrated. Quit. Get a bad grade. Think they aren’t good at math. How is homework fair??? — Jay Wamsted (@JayWamsted) March 24, 2022

As we delve into this discussion, we explore various facets of why reducing or even eliminating homework could be beneficial. We consider the research, weigh the pros and cons, and examine alternative approaches to traditional homework that can enhance learning without overburdening students.

Once you’ve finished this article, you’ll know:

  • Insights from Teachers and Education Industry Experts →
  • 7 Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework →
  • Opposing Views on Homework Practices →
  • Exploring Alternatives to Homework →

Insights from Teachers and Education Industry Experts: Diverse Perspectives on Homework

In the ongoing conversation about the role and impact of homework in education, the perspectives of those directly involved in the teaching process are invaluable. Teachers and education industry experts bring a wealth of experience and insights from the front lines of learning. Their viewpoints, shaped by years of interaction with students and a deep understanding of educational methodologies, offer a critical lens through which we can evaluate the effectiveness and necessity of homework in our current educational paradigm.

Check out this video featuring Courtney White, a high school language arts teacher who gained widespread attention for her explanation of why she chooses not to assign homework.

Here are the insights and opinions from various experts in the educational field on this topic:

“I teach 1st grade. I had parents ask for homework. I explained that I don’t give homework. Home time is family time. Time to play, cook, explore and spend time together. I do send books home, but there is no requirement or checklist for reading them. Read them, enjoy them, and return them when your child is ready for more. I explained that as a parent myself, I know they are busy—and what a waste of energy it is to sit and force their kids to do work at home—when they could use that time to form relationships and build a loving home. Something kids need more than a few math problems a week.” — Colleen S. , 1st grade teacher
“The lasting educational value of homework at that age is not proven. A kid says the times tables [at school] because he studied the times tables last night. But over a long period of time, a kid who is drilled on the times tables at school, rather than as homework, will also memorize their times tables. We are worried about young children and their social emotional learning. And that has to do with physical activity, it has to do with playing with peers, it has to do with family time. All of those are very important and can be removed by too much homework.” — David Bloomfield , education professor at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York graduate center
“Homework in primary school has an effect of around zero. In high school it’s larger. (…) Which is why we need to get it right. Not why we need to get rid of it. It’s one of those lower hanging fruit that we should be looking in our primary schools to say, ‘Is it really making a difference?’” — John Hattie , professor
”Many kids are working as many hours as their overscheduled parents and it is taking a toll – psychologically and in many other ways too. We see kids getting up hours before school starts just to get their homework done from the night before… While homework may give kids one more responsibility, it ignores the fact that kids do not need to grow up and become adults at ages 10 or 12. With schools cutting recess time or eliminating playgrounds, kids absorb every single stress there is, only on an even higher level. Their brains and bodies need time to be curious, have fun, be creative and just be a kid.” — Pat Wayman, teacher and CEO of HowtoLearn.com

7 Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework

Let’s delve into the reasons against assigning homework to students. Examining these arguments offers important perspectives on the wider educational and developmental consequences of homework practices.

1. Elevated Stress and Health Consequences

Elevated Stress and Health Consequences

The ongoing debate about homework often focuses on its educational value, but a vital aspect that cannot be overlooked is the significant stress and health consequences it brings to students. In the context of American life, where approximately 70% of people report moderate or extreme stress due to various factors like mass shootings, healthcare affordability, discrimination, racism, sexual harassment, climate change, presidential elections, and the need to stay informed, the additional burden of homework further exacerbates this stress, particularly among students.

Key findings and statistics reveal a worrying trend:

  • Overwhelming Student Stress: A staggering 72% of students report being often or always stressed over schoolwork, with a concerning 82% experiencing physical symptoms due to this stress.
  • Serious Health Issues: Symptoms linked to homework stress include sleep deprivation, headaches, exhaustion, weight loss, and stomach problems.
  • Sleep Deprivation: Despite the National Sleep Foundation recommending 8.5 to 9.25 hours of sleep for healthy adolescent development, students average just 6.80 hours of sleep on school nights. About 68% of students stated that schoolwork often or always prevented them from getting enough sleep, which is critical for their physical and mental health.
  • Turning to Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms: Alarmingly, the pressure from excessive homework has led some students to turn to alcohol and drugs as a way to cope with stress.

This data paints a concerning picture. Students, already navigating a world filled with various stressors, find themselves further burdened by homework demands. The direct correlation between excessive homework and health issues indicates a need for reevaluation. The goal should be to ensure that homework if assigned, adds value to students’ learning experiences without compromising their health and well-being.

By addressing the issue of homework-related stress and health consequences, we can take a significant step toward creating a more nurturing and effective educational environment. This environment would not only prioritize academic achievement but also the overall well-being and happiness of students, preparing them for a balanced and healthy life both inside and outside the classroom.

2. Inequitable Impact and Socioeconomic Disparities

Inequitable Impact and Socioeconomic Disparities

In the discourse surrounding educational equity, homework emerges as a factor exacerbating socioeconomic disparities, particularly affecting students from lower-income families and those with less supportive home environments. While homework is often justified as a means to raise academic standards and promote equity, its real-world impact tells a different story.

The inequitable burden of homework becomes starkly evident when considering the resources required to complete it, especially in the digital age. Homework today often necessitates a computer and internet access – resources not readily available to all students. This digital divide significantly disadvantages students from lower-income backgrounds, deepening the chasm between them and their more affluent peers.

Key points highlighting the disparities:

  • Digital Inequity: Many students lack access to necessary technology for homework, with low-income families disproportionately affected.
  • Impact of COVID-19: The pandemic exacerbated these disparities as education shifted online, revealing the extent of the digital divide.
  • Educational Outcomes Tied to Income: A critical indicator of college success is linked more to family income levels than to rigorous academic preparation. Research indicates that while 77% of students from high-income families graduate from highly competitive colleges, only 9% from low-income families achieve the same . This disparity suggests that the pressure of heavy homework loads, rather than leveling the playing field, may actually hinder the chances of success for less affluent students.

Moreover, the approach to homework varies significantly across different types of schools. While some rigorous private and preparatory schools in both marginalized and affluent communities assign extreme levels of homework, many progressive schools focusing on holistic learning and self-actualization opt for no homework, yet achieve similar levels of college and career success. This contrast raises questions about the efficacy and necessity of heavy homework loads in achieving educational outcomes.

The issue of homework and its inequitable impact is not just an academic concern; it is a reflection of broader societal inequalities. By continuing practices that disproportionately burden students from less privileged backgrounds, the educational system inadvertently perpetuates the very disparities it seeks to overcome.

3. Negative Impact on Family Dynamics

Negative Impact on Family Dynamics

Homework, a staple of the educational system, is often perceived as a necessary tool for academic reinforcement. However, its impact extends beyond the realm of academics, significantly affecting family dynamics. The negative repercussions of homework on the home environment have become increasingly evident, revealing a troubling pattern that can lead to conflict, mental health issues, and domestic friction.

A study conducted in 2015 involving 1,100 parents sheds light on the strain homework places on family relationships. The findings are telling:

  • Increased Likelihood of Conflicts: Families where parents did not have a college degree were 200% more likely to experience fights over homework.
  • Misinterpretations and Misunderstandings: Parents often misinterpret their children’s difficulties with homework as a lack of attention in school, leading to feelings of frustration and mistrust on both sides.
  • Discriminatory Impact: The research concluded that the current approach to homework disproportionately affects children whose parents have lower educational backgrounds, speak English as a second language, or belong to lower-income groups.

The issue is not confined to specific demographics but is a widespread concern. Samantha Hulsman, a teacher featured in Education Week Teacher , shared her personal experience with the toll that homework can take on family time. She observed that a seemingly simple 30-minute assignment could escalate into a three-hour ordeal, causing stress and strife between parents and children. Hulsman’s insights challenge the traditional mindset about homework, highlighting a shift towards the need for skills such as collaboration and problem-solving over rote memorization of facts.

The need of the hour is to reassess the role and amount of homework assigned to students. It’s imperative to find a balance that facilitates learning and growth without compromising the well-being of the family unit. Such a reassessment would not only aid in reducing domestic conflicts but also contribute to a more supportive and nurturing environment for children’s overall development.

4. Consumption of Free Time

Consumption of Free Time

In recent years, a growing chorus of voices has raised concerns about the excessive burden of homework on students, emphasizing how it consumes their free time and impedes their overall well-being. The issue is not just the quantity of homework, but its encroachment on time that could be used for personal growth, relaxation, and family bonding.

Authors Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish , in their book “The Case Against Homework,” offer an insightful window into the lives of families grappling with the demands of excessive homework. They share stories from numerous interviews conducted in the mid-2000s, highlighting the universal struggle faced by families across different demographics. A poignant account from a parent in Menlo Park, California, describes nightly sessions extending until 11 p.m., filled with stress and frustration, leading to a soured attitude towards school in both the child and the parent. This narrative is not isolated, as about one-third of the families interviewed expressed feeling crushed by the overwhelming workload.

Key points of concern:

  • Excessive Time Commitment: Students, on average, spend over 6 hours in school each day, and homework adds significantly to this time, leaving little room for other activities.
  • Impact on Extracurricular Activities: Homework infringes upon time for sports, music, art, and other enriching experiences, which are as crucial as academic courses.
  • Stifling Creativity and Self-Discovery: The constant pressure of homework limits opportunities for students to explore their interests and learn new skills independently.

The National Education Association (NEA) and the National PTA (NPTA) recommend a “10 minutes of homework per grade level” standard, suggesting a more balanced approach. However, the reality often far exceeds this guideline, particularly for older students. The impact of this overreach is profound, affecting not just academic performance but also students’ attitudes toward school, their self-confidence, social skills, and overall quality of life.

Furthermore, the intense homework routine’s effectiveness is doubtful, as it can overwhelm students and detract from the joy of learning. Effective learning builds on prior knowledge in an engaging way, but excessive homework in a home setting may be irrelevant and uninteresting. The key challenge is balancing homework to enhance learning without overburdening students, allowing time for holistic growth and activities beyond academics. It’s crucial to reassess homework policies to support well-rounded development.

5. Challenges for Students with Learning Disabilities

Challenges for Students with Learning Disabilities

Homework, a standard educational tool, poses unique challenges for students with learning disabilities, often leading to a frustrating and disheartening experience. These challenges go beyond the typical struggles faced by most students and can significantly impede their educational progress and emotional well-being.

Child psychologist Kenneth Barish’s insights in Psychology Today shed light on the complex relationship between homework and students with learning disabilities:

  • Homework as a Painful Endeavor: For students with learning disabilities, completing homework can be likened to “running with a sprained ankle.” It’s a task that, while doable, is fraught with difficulty and discomfort.
  • Misconceptions about Laziness: Often, children who struggle with homework are perceived as lazy. However, Barish emphasizes that these students are more likely to be frustrated, discouraged, or anxious rather than unmotivated.
  • Limited Improvement in School Performance: The battles over homework rarely translate into significant improvement in school for these children, challenging the conventional notion of homework as universally beneficial.

These points highlight the need for a tailored approach to homework for students with learning disabilities. It’s crucial to recognize that the traditional homework model may not be the most effective or appropriate method for facilitating their learning. Instead, alternative strategies that accommodate their unique needs and learning styles should be considered.

In conclusion, the conventional homework paradigm needs reevaluation, particularly concerning students with learning disabilities. By understanding and addressing their unique challenges, educators can create a more inclusive and supportive educational environment. This approach not only aids in their academic growth but also nurtures their confidence and overall development, ensuring that they receive an equitable and empathetic educational experience.

6. Critique of Underlying Assumptions about Learning

Critique of Underlying Assumptions about Learning

The longstanding belief in the educational sphere that more homework automatically translates to more learning is increasingly being challenged. Critics argue that this assumption is not only flawed but also unsupported by solid evidence, questioning the efficacy of homework as an effective learning tool.

Alfie Kohn , a prominent critic of homework, aptly compares students to vending machines in this context, suggesting that the expectation of inserting an assignment and automatically getting out of learning is misguided. Kohn goes further, labeling homework as the “greatest single extinguisher of children’s curiosity.” This critique highlights a fundamental issue: the potential of homework to stifle the natural inquisitiveness and love for learning in children.

The lack of concrete evidence supporting the effectiveness of homework is evident in various studies:

  • Marginal Effectiveness of Homework: A study involving 28,051 high school seniors found that the effectiveness of homework was marginal, and in some cases, it was counterproductive, leading to more academic problems than solutions.
  • No Correlation with Academic Achievement: Research in “ National Differences, Global Similarities ” showed no correlation between homework and academic achievement in elementary students, and any positive correlation in middle or high school diminished with increasing homework loads.
  • Increased Academic Pressure: The Teachers College Record published findings that homework adds to academic pressure and societal stress, exacerbating performance gaps between students from different socioeconomic backgrounds.

These findings bring to light several critical points:

  • Quality Over Quantity: According to a recent article in Monitor on Psychology , experts concur that the quality of homework assignments, along with the quality of instruction, student motivation, and inherent ability, is more crucial for academic success than the quantity of homework.
  • Counterproductive Nature of Excessive Homework: Excessive homework can lead to more academic challenges, particularly for students already facing pressures from other aspects of their lives.
  • Societal Stress and Performance Gaps: Homework can intensify societal stress and widen the academic performance divide.

The emerging consensus from these studies suggests that the traditional approach to homework needs rethinking. Rather than focusing on the quantity of assignments, educators should consider the quality and relevance of homework, ensuring it truly contributes to learning and development. This reassessment is crucial for fostering an educational environment that nurtures curiosity and a love for learning, rather than extinguishing it.

7. Issues with Homework Enforcement, Reliability, and Temptation to Cheat

Issues with Homework Enforcement, Reliability, and Temptation to Cheat

In the academic realm, the enforcement of homework is a subject of ongoing debate, primarily due to its implications on student integrity and the true value of assignments. The challenges associated with homework enforcement often lead to unintended yet significant issues, such as cheating, copying, and a general undermining of educational values.

Key points highlighting enforcement challenges:

  • Difficulty in Enforcing Completion: Ensuring that students complete their homework can be a complex task, and not completing homework does not always correlate with poor grades.
  • Reliability of Homework Practice: The reliability of homework as a practice tool is undermined when students, either out of desperation or lack of understanding, choose shortcuts over genuine learning. This approach can lead to the opposite of the intended effect, especially when assignments are not well-aligned with the students’ learning levels or interests.
  • Temptation to Cheat: The issue of cheating is particularly troubling. According to a report by The Chronicle of Higher Education , under the pressure of at-home assignments, many students turn to copying others’ work, plagiarizing, or using creative technological “hacks.” This tendency not only questions the integrity of the learning process but also reflects the extreme stress that homework can induce.
  • Parental Involvement in Completion: As noted in The American Journal of Family Therapy , this raises concerns about the authenticity of the work submitted. When parents complete assignments for their children, it not only deprives the students of the opportunity to learn but also distorts the purpose of homework as a learning aid.

In conclusion, the challenges of homework enforcement present a complex problem that requires careful consideration. The focus should shift towards creating meaningful, manageable, and quality-driven assignments that encourage genuine learning and integrity, rather than overwhelming students and prompting counterproductive behaviors.

Addressing Opposing Views on Homework Practices

While opinions on homework policies are diverse, understanding different viewpoints is crucial. In the following sections, we will examine common arguments supporting homework assignments, along with counterarguments that offer alternative perspectives on this educational practice.

1. Improvement of Academic Performance

Improvement of Academic Performance

Homework is commonly perceived as a means to enhance academic performance, with the belief that it directly contributes to better grades and test scores. This view posits that through homework, students reinforce what they learn in class, leading to improved understanding and retention, which ultimately translates into higher academic achievement.

However, the question of why students should not have homework becomes pertinent when considering the complex relationship between homework and academic performance. Studies have indicated that excessive homework doesn’t necessarily equate to higher grades or test scores. Instead, too much homework can backfire, leading to stress and fatigue that adversely affect a student’s performance. Reuters highlights an intriguing correlation suggesting that physical activity may be more conducive to academic success than additional homework, underscoring the importance of a holistic approach to education that prioritizes both physical and mental well-being for enhanced academic outcomes.

2. Reinforcement of Learning

Reinforcement of Learning

Homework is traditionally viewed as a tool to reinforce classroom learning, enabling students to practice and retain material. However, research suggests its effectiveness is ambiguous. In instances where homework is well-aligned with students’ abilities and classroom teachings, it can indeed be beneficial. Particularly for younger students , excessive homework can cause burnout and a loss of interest in learning, counteracting its intended purpose.

Furthermore, when homework surpasses a student’s capability, it may induce frustration and confusion rather than aid in learning. This challenges the notion that more homework invariably leads to better understanding and retention of educational content.

3. Development of Time Management Skills

Development of Time Management Skills

Homework is often considered a crucial tool in helping students develop important life skills such as time management and organization. The idea is that by regularly completing assignments, students learn to allocate their time efficiently and organize their tasks effectively, skills that are invaluable in both academic and personal life.

However, the impact of homework on developing these skills is not always positive. For younger students, especially, an overwhelming amount of homework can be more of a hindrance than a help. Instead of fostering time management and organizational skills, an excessive workload often leads to stress and anxiety . These negative effects can impede the learning process and make it difficult for students to manage their time and tasks effectively, contradicting the original purpose of homework.

4. Preparation for Future Academic Challenges

Preparation for Future Academic Challenges

Homework is often touted as a preparatory tool for future academic challenges that students will encounter in higher education and their professional lives. The argument is that by tackling homework, students build a foundation of knowledge and skills necessary for success in more advanced studies and in the workforce, fostering a sense of readiness and confidence.

Contrarily, an excessive homework load, especially from a young age, can have the opposite effect . It can instill a negative attitude towards education, dampening students’ enthusiasm and willingness to embrace future academic challenges. Overburdening students with homework risks disengagement and loss of interest, thereby defeating the purpose of preparing them for future challenges. Striking a balance in the amount and complexity of homework is crucial to maintaining student engagement and fostering a positive attitude towards ongoing learning.

5. Parental Involvement in Education

Parental Involvement in Education

Homework often acts as a vital link connecting parents to their child’s educational journey, offering insights into the school’s curriculum and their child’s learning process. This involvement is key in fostering a supportive home environment and encouraging a collaborative relationship between parents and the school. When parents understand and engage with what their children are learning, it can significantly enhance the educational experience for the child.

However, the line between involvement and over-involvement is thin. When parents excessively intervene by completing their child’s homework,  it can have adverse effects . Such actions not only diminish the educational value of homework but also rob children of the opportunity to develop problem-solving skills and independence. This over-involvement, coupled with disparities in parental ability to assist due to variations in time, knowledge, or resources, may lead to unequal educational outcomes, underlining the importance of a balanced approach to parental participation in homework.

Exploring Alternatives to Homework and Finding a Middle Ground

Exploring Alternatives to Homework

In the ongoing debate about the role of homework in education, it’s essential to consider viable alternatives and strategies to minimize its burden. While completely eliminating homework may not be feasible for all educators, there are several effective methods to reduce its impact and offer more engaging, student-friendly approaches to learning.

Alternatives to Traditional Homework

  • Project-Based Learning: This method focuses on hands-on, long-term projects where students explore real-world problems. It encourages creativity, critical thinking, and collaborative skills, offering a more engaging and practical learning experience than traditional homework. For creative ideas on school projects, especially related to the solar system, be sure to explore our dedicated article on solar system projects .
  • Flipped Classrooms: Here, students are introduced to new content through videos or reading materials at home and then use class time for interactive activities. This approach allows for more personalized and active learning during school hours.
  • Reading for Pleasure: Encouraging students to read books of their choice can foster a love for reading and improve literacy skills without the pressure of traditional homework assignments. This approach is exemplified by Marion County, Florida , where public schools implemented a no-homework policy for elementary students. Instead, they are encouraged to read nightly for 20 minutes . Superintendent Heidi Maier’s decision was influenced by research showing that while homework offers minimal benefit to young students, regular reading significantly boosts their learning. For book recommendations tailored to middle school students, take a look at our specially curated article .

Ideas for Minimizing Homework

  • Limiting Homework Quantity: Adhering to guidelines like the “ 10-minute rule ” (10 minutes of homework per grade level per night) can help ensure that homework does not become overwhelming.
  • Quality Over Quantity: Focus on assigning meaningful homework that is directly relevant to what is being taught in class, ensuring it adds value to students’ learning.
  • Homework Menus: Offering students a choice of assignments can cater to diverse learning styles and interests, making homework more engaging and personalized.
  • Integrating Technology: Utilizing educational apps and online platforms can make homework more interactive and enjoyable, while also providing immediate feedback to students. To gain deeper insights into the role of technology in learning environments, explore our articles discussing the benefits of incorporating technology in classrooms and a comprehensive list of educational VR apps . These resources will provide you with valuable information on how technology can enhance the educational experience.

For teachers who are not ready to fully eliminate homework, these strategies offer a compromise, ensuring that homework supports rather than hinders student learning. By focusing on quality, relevance, and student engagement, educators can transform homework from a chore into a meaningful component of education that genuinely contributes to students’ academic growth and personal development. In this way, we can move towards a more balanced and student-centric approach to learning, both in and out of the classroom.

Useful Resources

  • Is homework a good idea or not? by BBC
  • The Great Homework Debate: What’s Getting Lost in the Hype
  • Alternative Homework Ideas

The evidence and arguments presented in the discussion of why students should not have homework call for a significant shift in homework practices. It’s time for educators and policymakers to rethink and reformulate homework strategies, focusing on enhancing the quality, relevance, and balance of assignments. By doing so, we can create a more equitable, effective, and student-friendly educational environment that fosters learning, well-being, and holistic development.

  • “Here’s what an education expert says about that viral ‘no-homework’ policy”, Insider
  • “John Hattie on BBC Radio 4: Homework in primary school has an effect of zero”, Visible Learning
  • HowtoLearn.com
  • “Time Spent On Homework Statistics [Fresh Research]”, Gitnux
  • “Stress in America”, American Psychological Association (APA)
  • “Homework hurts high-achieving students, study says”, The Washington Post
  • “National Sleep Foundation’s updated sleep duration recommendations: final report”, National Library of Medicine
  • “A multi-method exploratory study of stress, coping, and substance use among high school youth in private schools”, Frontiers
  • “The Digital Revolution is Leaving Poorer Kids Behind”, Statista
  • “The digital divide has left millions of school kids behind”, CNET
  • “The Digital Divide: What It Is, and What’s Being Done to Close It”, Investopedia
  • “COVID-19 exposed the digital divide. Here’s how we can close it”, World Economic Forum
  • “PBS NewsHour: Biggest Predictor of College Success is Family Income”, America’s Promise Alliance
  • “Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background”, Taylor & Francis Online
  • “What Do You Mean My Kid Doesn’t Have Homework?”, EducationWeek
  • “Excerpt From The Case Against Homework”, Penguin Random House Canada
  • “How much homework is too much?”, neaToday
  • “The Nation’s Report Card: A First Look: 2013 Mathematics and Reading”, National Center for Education Statistics
  • “Battles Over Homework: Advice For Parents”, Psychology Today
  • “How Homework Is Destroying Teens’ Health”, The Lion’s Roar
  • “ Breaking the Homework Habit”, Education World
  • “Testing a model of school learning: Direct and indirect effects on academic achievement”, ScienceDirect
  • “National Differences, Global Similarities: World Culture and the Future of Schooling”, Stanford University Press
  • “When school goes home: Some problems in the organization of homework”, APA PsycNet
  • “Is homework a necessary evil?”, APA PsycNet
  • “Epidemic of copying homework catalyzed by technology”, Redwood Bark
  • “High-Tech Cheating Abounds, and Professors Bear Some Blame”, The Chronicle of Higher Education
  • “Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background”, ResearchGate
  • “Kids who get moving may also get better grades”, Reuters
  • “Does Homework Improve Academic Achievement? A Synthesis of Research, 1987–2003”, SageJournals
  • “Is it time to get rid of homework?”, USAToday
  • “Stanford research shows pitfalls of homework”, Stanford
  • “Florida school district bans homework, replaces it with daily reading”, USAToday
  • “Encouraging Students to Read: Tips for High School Teachers”, wgu.edu
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  • The Education Gradebook

Pinellas school has no classes, no teachers and lots of freedom

  • Christopher Spata Times staff

PALM HARBOR — At the Spring Valley School, three dozen students ages 5 to 18 are trusted to do what they want. There are no classes, grades or homework. There are no “teachers,” only “staff.” Students decide when it’s time to graduate.

Democracy rules, and students’ voting power far outweighs that of the school’s four adults. The kids at Spring Valley can fire or hire staff, admit or expel students and spend its budget. If you call, it’s likely a 15-year-old will answer the phone.

When a Tampa Bay Times reporter asked to observe a day inside the tiny private school, the students considered the request and voted to allow it.

Spring Valley , like most Florida private schools, has seen an uptick in interest that’s likely to grow. Florida’s new school choice law will allot tuition money for every student seeking education outside a public school — which families are already doing in record numbers.

Spring Valley, in turn, has doubled tours for prospective families to twice a week, and an expansion of the 2,500-square-foot schoolhouse begins this summer. Students and staff voted recently to increase tuition from $4,850 to $6,717, the first significant increase in over a decade.

Yet the curious school stands out even more amid a national “parental rights” movement, which has risen alongside Florida lawmakers’ reshaping of public schools. Parents have won influence over classrooms, from books in libraries to murals on the walls. In an era of consent forms , lawsuits and school board meetings swarmed with activist moms and dads, Spring Valley parents take a step back.

They agree to let an experiment in community take its course.

“It’s something we talk about when they enroll,” said Diane Ballou, the school’s founder. “They must learn to trust the student, and the environment, to figure it out on their own. And for some parents that is hard.”

A book could be banned at Spring Valley. Critical race theory could be studied. But it would all be entirely up to the kids.

“We don’t force anything in, and we don’t force anything out, unless it comes up organically in our community, and then we address it within our community,” Ballou said. “(Students) can research anything they want, including social and political issues, and some have, but there’s no curriculum. We trust they’re all going to come to terms with whatever decisions they make.”

The school opened in 1997, modeled after the original Sudbury Valley School founded in Massachusetts in 1968. The Sudbury method, used in about five dozen schools around the world, trusts children to find their own way to learning what’s important to them. Staffers can facilitate, if a student asks, but in practice, “They usually just figure it out themselves,” said Rich Collins, a retired software developer and staffer at the school. He’d originally volunteered because a student wanted to learn programming, but lately none have.

“My kids don’t do anything academic,” he said of his two daughters who attend Spring Valley. “Maybe some math, just to prove that they can. … I’m not too concerned.”

Collins understands people have doubts, and a million questions, and that the uninitiated might picture chaos, but curiosity, he said, is welcome.

On a recent Tuesday, this reporter parked off the circular driveway outside what appeared to be a modest, stuccoed, single-family home, except for the sign reading, “Spring Valley School, where I learn what can’t be taught.” Out back, children played under shady oaks. The front door opened into a full kitchen and a large common area with a stone fireplace where students bustled about.

At 10:30 a.m., Juliette LeDoux, 11, sat at a long table and played Kings in the Corner with Alice Collins, 10. Alice’s sister, Lucie, 13, ate a candy bar nearby. She’d arrived around 9, but signed herself out for a while to go buy the chocolate. Lucie’s plans for the day were watching “POV videos” on YouTube to learn about acting, and practicing soccer. Juliette’s plans? “This is pretty much it.”

In the media room, a boy and girl sat back to back at separate computers playing Roblox together, while a girl scaled mountain terraces in Minecraft. Two young boys and a teenager sat at computers, absorbed in a multiplayer game called Super Animal Royale, a battle royale-style shooter “featuring up to 64 adorably murderous Super Animals.”

They called out a cacophony of instructions: “I didn’t have to maneuver, you flank them!” “Let’s expand the living room!” The older boy, Karl, calculated on his phone some sort of in-game points expenditure the three were planning.

At 11:30 came the weekly school meeting, the only gathering everyone must attend. Students shuffled in, and the elected meeting chairperson, 18-year-old Christian S. Brzezinski, made opening announcements — someone had left a bathroom door closed when not in use — then took his place at a panel of other students and banged a gavel.

When students at Spring Valley don’t like a rule, they change it. There have been some hot debates over the years, like the former ban on Nerf guns that some younger students overturned, or the “no getting wet” rule, later amended to state that a student can only get wet if they’ve brought a towel. A faction recently tried to strike down the school’s no-pranking rule but failed. A compromise passed: no pranks without permission.

On this day, the new rule being considered was a staffer suggestion, prompted by a Judicial Committee the prior week. That’s the school’s disciplinary group, also predominantly students, who hear the cases of accused students.

One student had complained about another for posting what they felt was a cringey photo of them dancing. The new rule would require permission before sharing images of another student.

“All in favor?” asked Brzezinski. Hands went up, and the rule was passed.

Lucie and Sophie Baker had introduced a motion to allow them to sell fake nails. Passed.

Alice introduced a motion to allow her to answer the school’s front door. “I feel like even though I’m 10 I’m really responsible.” Passed. This prompted a similar motion from Janelle, 14. Motion tabled.

Students at Sudbury schools, staffers said, are far more likely to become artists or entrepreneurs than, say, scientists. The school’s four most recent graduates include one current college student, a bartender, a nutritionist and one who’d planned to pursue truck driving the last time staff checked.

One could criticize the Sudbury method for failing to ensure that students learn the basics — a popular New Republic article from 2014 highlighted a 16-year-old’s unfamiliarity with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — but Sudbury’s proponents say no one needs to know everything, and students will eventually learn some things as adults, when they need to. The age-old lament, “Why do I need to know this if I’m never going to use it?” meets its validation here.

Brzezinski wants to be a pilot, and occasionally has spent school hours in a virtual-reality flight simulator brought from home. He is considering graduating this semester, if he feels like it, and wants an entry-level job at Delta, which offers employees a path to become pilots after two years.

He started at Spring Valley at 4 and said he learned to read and write through the chat functions on video games. The most he’s studied at school, he recalled, was when he needed to build a fence around some protected beach dunes for an Eagle Scout project. On this Tuesday, he planned to spend his school hours watching YouTube videos on game theory, then “hanging out with my buds.”

Had he missed anything important without teachers’ prompts or lesson plans? He shrugged off the notion. Put on the spot, he could name the Axis powers from World War II (he likes documentaries) and the three branches of American government (learned it for merit badge work).

His perception of traditional school was that it was a bit ruthless, and arbitrarily overstructured, and certainly not for him. “I’ve seen on TV and in movies what it kind of feels like.”

Mila Holtzeker Gamili scrunched up her face and shook her head when asked about traditional school.

“There are no good outcomes from forcing,” she said.

Holtzeker Gamili, 14, has attended Spring Valley since age 8, after her family moved to the area from Israel. A lover of music from the 1960s and ‘70s, she sat in the lounge noodling a Beatles song on acoustic guitar.

“I’m already an artist,” she said, “but I want to be an artist.”

She’d learned chords from another student, an older boy, which she pointed to as a helpful situation that might not happen at a traditional school. She’d been helping a much younger boy with basic math.

Holtzeker Gamili is up to algebra, something she asked a staffer who taught public school math to help with. “I had the choice not to do that, but I’m doing it because knowledge is power, and maybe college applications and stuff.” She mostly spends her school days drawing or socializing, or on rare occasions, reading.

What did she worry people might think of her school? “That they’ll think we’re lazy here,” she said. “When you learn something you want, the outcome is good.”

The school day wore on. Kids practiced a TikTok-esque dance routine. They shot hoops and played on a swing set indefinitely. Some kids spend all their time on a computer, while others spend their entire day playing outside. “It’s natural,” Rich Collins said. “I saw them out here the other day having a deep strategic conversation about a game they’d made up.”

Other examples the students and staff gave of things they’d learned or witnessed being learned included: event planning (via organizing the school dance), graphic design (tickets for said dance), teamwork (video games), communications (crafting official school emails to send parents about yearbook photos) solving Rubik’s Cubes (YouTube), and the creation of a fantasy world called Starry Caverns, a cave system filled with bioluminescent life (many, many hours of sketching).

Students and staff struggled to give many examples, either because there weren’t that many or because they don’t worry about quantifying knowledge that way.

“We don’t really think like that,” Rich Collins said.

There are a surprising number of rules, committees and “corporations” — Media Corp, Library Corp, Kitchen Corp, Art Corp, games, theater, elections, admissions, decorations and about a dozen others. The community elects chairs, who propose more rules and certify other students on things like using the microwave or answering the phone.

When it came time for the Judicial Committee at 1 p.m., a small group gathered in a sunny classroom.

One student read the evidence: “Cash was caught on top of Jayden.” Both boys were charged with horseplay.

They briefly made their defense. Jayden claimed to have been “just laying down chilling” in the media room when Cash jumped on him. Cash tried to call a witness, who could not be found. Ultimately, both admitted to violating the rules and received a sentence of no game room for the rest of the day.

Shortly after that, in the main room, someone yelled, “Helping Hands!” and a group of students sprang into action wiping, scrubbing and sweeping, as another student director inspected their work with a checklist.

“You need more rules,” Alice Collins said, “when you have more freedom.”

Sophia Aston, 17, went to a traditional school until she was 11. It was midafternoon, and she sat in the art room, an enclosed patio, slicing wine corks with a box cutter to craft a rug. She mentioned the school’s No. 1 rule, the preamble to its rulebook. Students and staff brought up the preamble often. It states that all community members are “responsible for the general welfare of the school, through actions that contribute to preserving the atmosphere of freedom, respect, safety, fairness, trust, and order that is the essence of the school’s existence.”

Aston worried readers of this story would assume school there was far too easy.

“That’s not true,” she said. “This is a community, and it takes a lot to build that.” Then some younger girls asked her for help with art supplies. A director for Art Corp, Aston sees her responsibilities to the Spring Valley community as almost sacred. “See how we were just interrupted so I could pour paint? I can’t just tell them no. That’s not how this works.”

Still, it seemed a lot of freedom to figure out, on their own, how to spend every day of a school year lasting nine months.

A teenage boy announced, to no one in particular, “I’m leaving.” And headed toward the sign-out sheet by the door.

Enterprise Reporter, Culture

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  • Raising Kids

Yes, You Can Opt Your Kids Out of Homework—Here’s How

One mom says her kids haven't been doing homework for years. Here's how she opted them out and what experts say.

Guille Faingold / Stocksy

When Juliana Porter thinks about the feeling that homework induces, one word comes to mind: dread. With afternoon and evening time constraints, the North Carolina mom of three wants her kids to have some time to relax and unwind, so homework is often pushed until during or after dinnertime.  

“The subject we’ve found to be the most challenging is math, in large part because strategies and ‘show your work’ are often required to get correct answers,” says Porter. “But as parents who are not in the class to learn new methods, we’re not able to help. Or we can help, but it’s not the correct method being taught and adds to our child’s confusion. These at-home cram sessions usually end in frustration for both child and parent.”

The Porter family’s experience isn’t unique. Research published in the Child & Youth Care Forum found more than 25% of parents and kids say homework “always or often interferes with family time and creates a power struggle,” while more than 36% of kids say homework sometimes forces them to get less sleep in grades 3 to 6. According to Stanford research , 56% of students surveyed say homework is a primary source of stress.

While many families do their best to help their children complete homework with as little frustration as possible, my family has chosen a different option: to simply skip it. And I don’t mean just skipping it on the nights it's difficult either. For four years, my family has totally opted out of homework, which I’ve learned doesn’t produce enough benefits for the stress it causes. And I want other parents to know that opting out of homework is an option for their kids, too.

Homework: How to Opt Out

If your child goes to an open admissions public school, opting out of homework can be something you consider. While it may be a particularly good choice if homework is causing major household stress, you don’t have to wait until your child is miserable to act if they (or you) would simply prefer to spend the time in other ways. There are no legal requirements that students complete work outside of school hours and, for many children, the actual determinants of homework outweigh the theoretical benefits. 

To opt out, I send a note to each of my children's teachers at the beginning of the year letting them know that my child will not be completing homework, that their overall grade should not be impacted, and that they should not be penalized in any way for not turning in homework assignments.

I also let them know that we're committed to our kids' education, that we read together most evenings, and that, if my child is struggling or needs extra support in any subject, we're happy to brainstorm solutions to help them get the practice they need. Though no teachers have pushed back yet (and several have told us they wish they were not required to assign homework and that more families knew they could opt out), we have a small folder of research on the detriments of homework that we could share with an administrator if needed. 

Opting out has worked well for our family but implicit bias might mean that other families don't receive the same neutral or positive reaction that our white family does. 

"Many minoritized and historically marginalized families never consider opting out of homework, even when they know that it's not meaningful," says Sequoya Mungo, Ph.D. , an educational equity consultant and co-founder of BrownLight Inc. , a company helping to create positive diversity and inclusion results in educational, nonprofit, and corporate environments. "When white families make these types of educational choices, they are viewed as forward-thinking and seen as advocates for their children's education. Teachers and others often think that they're being proactive and identifying other enrichment opportunities for their kids. When non-middle class and non-white families opt out, the assumption is that parents don't value education and don't want to, or are unable to, help their kids with homework.” 

According to Dr. Mungo, coming with research or policy can be helpful as even some school level administrators are unaware that opting out is within your rights as parents. “The more prepared you are, the more likely you are to not be met with pushback.” 

Why Families May Want to Opt Out of Homework

Since homework is so prevalent, many assume it's vital, or at least important, to kids' academic growth. But the reality is murkier. "There's really no good evidence that homework completion positively impacts kids' academic growth or achievement," says Samantha Cleaver, Ph.D. , a reading interventionist and author of Raising an Active Reader: The Case for Reading Aloud to Engage Elementary School Youngsters . 

A 2006 meta-analysis of homework and achievement found moderate correlation in middle school and little correlation in elementary school, while there was negative correlation (that is, more homework means less learning) in third grade and below.

While research shows homework can help high school kids improve grades, test results, and likelihood of going to college, the reality is academic pressures in the U.S. have increased over the last two decades, and so too has the amount of homework that kids are assigned. The National Education Association (NEA) recommends no more than 10 minutes of homework per night per grade level, but that's often not what's happening. According to a 2015 study, elementary school students are being assigned more than is recommended , sometimes almost triple the amount. And, often, even when educators are assigning homework they think falls in this window, it can take some students, particularly those who are “behind” already or who have learning disabilities, much more time to complete. 

Excessive homework can negatively impact sleep, mental health, and stress levels. It’s also important to note homework is an issue of equity, since not every child has the same opportunities at home. "When kids are doing work in school, the classroom environment serves as somewhat of an equalizer,'' says Dr. Mungo. "Kids have access to the same teacher and generally the same resources within the classroom setting. At home, kids have different environments, different access to resources, and different levels of support." This means kids with less support and more challenges often end up getting lower grades or being penalized for not turning in work for reasons totally outside their control.

Making Change on Homework

Parents who don't want to be the only ones opting out can work to change the homework culture at their school. Consider reaching out to your principal about your homework concerns or connecting with other parents or the PTA to help build support for your cause.

And if you do opt out, don't be shy about letting other parents know that's what you've chosen to do. Sometimes just knowing there is an option and that others have opted out successfully can help families decide what's right for them.

What to Do With the Extra Time

When Porter thinks about what a life without homework would be like, she envisions a much more relaxed evening routine. “I imagine a scenario where my kids can do their after-school activities, read more, get outside, and generally just decompress from the daily eight-hour grind that is school with no more dread and no more crying,” she says.

If you opt out of homework and find your family with more time for other sorts of learning, leisure, or adventure, be thoughtful how you’ll structure your new routine and talk with your kids about the value of doing nothing, the importance of family time, or how to spend their time in ways that matter to them.

And if you want to be sure they're getting in some valuable post-school learning, consider repurposing your previous homework time to reading with your kids. "Reading aloud has benefits long after your kids can read on their own," says Dr. Cleaver. "Encourage them to choose books about subjects they're interested in, snuggle up together, and enjoy watching them learn through active reading."

But reading isn’t the only way to reap benefits. "There are lots of things that kids can do after school that will positively impact their growth and development that don't involve sitting down to do more of the work they've done at school,'' says Dr. Cleaver. "Time to decompress through play or relaxation isn't just fun, it actually helps kids' brains and bodies relax, making them more open to learning."

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2024 Best Private High Schools in America

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1-25 of 8,840 results

Phillips Exeter Academy

Exeter, NH •

Private School •

  • • Rating 4.34 out of 5   332 reviews

Junior: This school is really great but keep in mind that it's a huge time commitment. Even if you do not board, you are still there for the majority of your time, and once you factor in homework, your entire life pretty much becomes Exeter. For me at least, this was a tough adjustment my first year. But if you stick with it, it definitely becomes worth it. ... Read 332 reviews

  • grade  A+ Overall Niche Grade

Students 1,074

Student-teacher ratio 5:1

#1 Best Private High Schools in America .

Blue checkmark.

Private School ,

EXETER, NH ,

332 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says This school is really great but keep in mind that it's a huge time commitment. Even if you do not board, you are still there for the majority of your time, and once you factor in homework, your... .

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Overall Niche Grade : A+ ,

Students : 1,074 ,

Student-Teacher Ratio : 5 to 1 ,

Princeton International School of Math and Science

Princeton, NJ •

  • • Rating 4.94 out of 5   17 reviews

Freshman: Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science offers an educational experience like no other! For any student interested in STEAM-related subjects, PRISMS is a dream come true. The faculty are passionate and helpful, and the scientific equipment is college-level! While sports are not prioritized, Varsity volleyball, soccer, and basketball are offered. PRISMS is a great community, filled with incredible educators, a STEAM-centered curriculum, and top-notch scientific equipment. ... Read 17 reviews

Students 120

#2 Best Private High Schools in America .

PRINCETON, NJ ,

17 Niche users give it an average review of 4.9 stars.

Featured Review: Freshman says Princeton International School of Mathematics and Science offers an educational experience like no other! For any student interested in STEAM-related subjects, PRISMS is a dream come true. The... .

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Students : 120 ,

Choate Rosemary Hall

Wallingford, CT •

  • • Rating 4.57 out of 5   178 reviews

Alum: I was able to achieve so much as a high school student through the support of genuine, kind friends, encouraging teachers, and an incredibly welcoming community. The opportunity to involve yourself in so many different areas of study, as well as attempt new things without the fear of feeling unqualified was such a freeing experience, and one that many ever get to experience. Without a doubt, rigor and high achievement stress is always present, and several other factors play into creating an environment of pressure. However, Choate is a place that cares and works to improve. ... Read 178 reviews

Students 861

Student-teacher ratio 7:1

#3 Best Private High Schools in America .

WALLINGFORD, CT ,

178 Niche users give it an average review of 4.6 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says I was able to achieve so much as a high school student through the support of genuine, kind friends, encouraging teachers, and an incredibly welcoming community. The opportunity to involve yourself... .

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Students : 861 ,

Student-Teacher Ratio : 7 to 1 ,

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Phillips Academy Andover

Andover, MA •

  • • Rating 4.47 out of 5   178 reviews

Parent: My daughter graduated in 2023 as a 4 year senior. Andover is intense but amazing. Our daughter was completely prepared for college - Andover taught her to seek out opportunities and advocate for herself. She has a wonderful network of friends from all over the country and all over the world. Go Blue! ... Read 178 reviews

Students 1,187

#4 Best Private High Schools in America .

ANDOVER, MA ,

178 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Parent says My daughter graduated in 2023 as a 4 year senior. Andover is intense but amazing. Our daughter was completely prepared for college - Andover taught her to seek out opportunities and advocate for... .

Students : 1,187 ,

Harvard-Westlake School

Studio City, CA •

  • • Rating 4.47 out of 5   174 reviews

Junior: My journey at Harvard-Westlake, from grades 7 to 11, has been a rollercoaster of growth, self-discovery, and meaningful connections. The academic challenges pushed me to explore my interests, and the diverse array of subjects expanded my horizons. The teachers, with their passion for teaching, made learning more than just a task; it became a journey of intellectual curiosity. Beyond the classroom, the multitude of extracurricular activities allowed me to explore my talents and develop a more well-rounded identity, for example, starting on both the varsity football and volleyball team. The sense of community at Harvard-Westlake, especially in my senior year, has solidified the place as a second home. As I stand on the cusp of graduation, I reflect on the friendships, lessons, and experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today. Harvard-Westlake has not just been a school; it's been a transformative chapter preparing me for the exciting journey that lies ahead. ... Read 174 reviews

Students 1,620

Student-teacher ratio 8:1

#5 Best Private High Schools in America .

STUDIO CITY, CA ,

174 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says My journey at Harvard-Westlake, from grades 7 to 11, has been a rollercoaster of growth, self-discovery, and meaningful connections. The academic challenges pushed me to explore my interests, and the... .

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Students : 1,620 ,

Student-Teacher Ratio : 8 to 1 ,

Stanford Online High School

Redwood City, CA •

Online School •

  • • Rating 4.66 out of 5   175 reviews

Junior: OHS is a very unique school. The rigorous and unique classes are taught by knowledgeable and enthusiastic professors. Because the school is online, you are able to pursue extracurriculars that are important to you by shaping a flexible class schedule. There are many clubs for any interest, and the student body hails from around the world. The lack of face-to-face communication (except at occasional meetups) can be frustrating at times. However, OHS students have an extremely strong sense of community and spirit. ... Read 175 reviews

Students 986

Student-teacher ratio 12:1

#6 Best Private High Schools in America .

Online School ,

REDWOOD CITY, CA ,

175 Niche users give it an average review of 4.7 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says OHS is a very unique school. The rigorous and unique classes are taught by knowledgeable and enthusiastic professors. Because the school is online, you are able to pursue extracurriculars that are... .

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Students : 986 ,

Student-Teacher Ratio : 12 to 1 ,

The Nueva School

Hillsborough, CA •

  • • Rating 4.51 out of 5   74 reviews

Middle school student: Nueva is one of the best schools I have ever been to. My first year attending was in 6th grade, and I am currently a middle school student at the Hillsborough campus. Nueva offers a multitude of opportunities for everyone attending, from those interested in math to individuals pursuing the arts, and with many clubs and electives available with topics ranging from building a lap guitar to creative writing, we can choose what we wish to pursue. An important part of our wonderful learning environment is the supportive, kind faculty: The teachers are mostly extremely trustworthy and know how to cater to everybody's needs and learning style. Our community is also quite nice—our student environment is not very cliquey, and parents are greatly involved in the path of our school. Additionally, from the Hillsborough campus, many acres of beautiful, lush hiking trails are easily accessible, and one can admire the rolling hills that border the school. Nueva is such a wonderful place! ... Read 74 reviews

Students 853

Student-teacher ratio 6:1

#7 Best Private High Schools in America .

HILLSBOROUGH, CA ,

74 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Middle school student says Nueva is one of the best schools I have ever been to. My first year attending was in 6th grade, and I am currently a middle school student at the Hillsborough campus. Nueva offers a multitude of... .

Read 74 reviews.

Students : 853 ,

Student-Teacher Ratio : 6 to 1 ,

Commonwealth School

Boston, MA •

  • • Rating 4.85 out of 5   40 reviews

Alum: I had a wonderful experience at Commonwealth. As a shy middle school student, I was advised by a family friend to look into small schools during my high school search. The community at Commonwealth helped me find my voice, connect closely with my friends and teachers, and learn about myself in a controlled environment. Although a large portion of my experience was heavily affected by the pandemic and the school chose some subpar ways to foster longtime school traditions, I still consider what I gained from my four years to have outweighed my losses. I'm eternally grateful to Commonwealth for my four years there and what I hope will become a lifelong connection to the community. ... Read 40 reviews

Students 154

#8 Best Private High Schools in America .

BOSTON, MA ,

40 Niche users give it an average review of 4.9 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says I had a wonderful experience at Commonwealth. As a shy middle school student, I was advised by a family friend to look into small schools during my high school search. The community at Commonwealth... .

Read 40 reviews.

Students : 154 ,

The Pingry School

Basking Ridge, NJ •

  • • Rating 4.28 out of 5   156 reviews

Parent: LOVE PINGRY! It is genuinely one of the best decisions I have ever made for my kids; they are thriving as athletes and in academics. The teachers are very caring and involved in students' lives, providing support outside of the classroom environment. I have one son who graduated a few years ago, and he was so ready for BU that it made me sad how little he needed me. Get ready for one of the best experiences your children will have; it's worth every penny. ... Read 156 reviews

Students 1,197

#9 Best Private High Schools in America .

BASKING RIDGE, NJ ,

156 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Parent says LOVE PINGRY! It is genuinely one of the best decisions I have ever made for my kids; they are thriving as athletes and in academics. The teachers are very caring and involved in students' lives,... .

Read 156 reviews.

Students : 1,197 ,

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Groton School

Groton, MA •

  • • Rating 4.46 out of 5   68 reviews

Alum: Amazing school filled with amazing and kind people. Their curriculum and academics are rigorous, but that has allowed me to grow into a more motivated, dedicated student who knows how to study. Their athletic program too has shaped me into a more self confident person and a better leader. Because of the school's size, it is a very tight-knit and supportive community, and students and faculty are generally very supportive. I am grateful for all the opportunities this school has offered and proud to have attended it. ... Read 68 reviews

Students 380

Student-teacher ratio 4:1

#10 Best Private High Schools in America .

GROTON, MA ,

68 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says Amazing school filled with amazing and kind people. Their curriculum and academics are rigorous, but that has allowed me to grow into a more motivated, dedicated student who knows how to study. Their... .

Read 68 reviews.

Students : 380 ,

Student-Teacher Ratio : 4 to 1 ,

Riverdale Country School

Bronx, NY •

  • • Rating 4.38 out of 5   80 reviews

Senior: Riverdale Country School is a top-level NYC private school; they provide you with the resources you need in order to get into a good college, the prerequisite courses that academically prepare you to succeed at your future college, and provide you with experiences that allow you to mature into an adult. When I first came at Riverdale, I was a freshman and it was during the Corona pandemic. Most of the students had been there since kindergarten and therefore made it extremely difficult to fit in. Also, going to Riverdale from kindergarten or middle school also meant that your family was able to afford the cost to attend. Since I came from a low-income family in Queens, I went through an extreme cultural change. Because of my experiences at Riverdale, I was able to see reality, though at the time it was not the best experience, I find gratitude for it. The teachers provided comfort at times of need, the resources and opportunities available to students are like no othr. ... Read 80 reviews

Students 1,299

#11 Best Private High Schools in America .

BRONX, NY ,

80 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says Riverdale Country School is a top-level NYC private school; they provide you with the resources you need in order to get into a good college, the prerequisite courses that academically prepare you... .

Read 80 reviews.

Students : 1,299 ,

The Chapin School

New York, NY •

  • • Rating 4.53 out of 5   118 reviews

Senior: Chapin has been a great experience so far! I love my friends and all the opportunities that are available here. However, sometimes it can get a bit noisy when I'm trying to focus on work. ... Read 118 reviews

Students 814

#12 Best Private High Schools in America .

NEW YORK, NY ,

118 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says Chapin has been a great experience so far! I love my friends and all the opportunities that are available here. However, sometimes it can get a bit noisy when I'm trying to focus on work. .

Read 118 reviews.

Students : 814 ,

St. John's School

Houston, TX •

  • • Rating 4.32 out of 5   117 reviews

Alum: St. John's has a very academically rigorous environment that prepared me well for the workload of college. The teachers are, on the whole, fantastic. The school still has a lot of growing to do in terms of attracting and supporting diverse students in their community. In some cases, it has not been the most nurturing environment for neurodivergent, non-white, or queer students, this can extend to female students as well. ... Read 117 reviews

Students 1,424

#13 Best Private High Schools in America .

HOUSTON, TX ,

117 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says St. John's has a very academically rigorous environment that prepared me well for the workload of college. The teachers are, on the whole, fantastic. The school still has a lot of growing to do in... .

Read 117 reviews.

Students : 1,424 ,

The Hotchkiss School

Lakeville, CT •

  • • Rating 4.53 out of 5   92 reviews

Senior: The Hotchkiss School is a wonderful academic institution that prepares you not only for college, but to be a better global citizen. I really appreciate the boarding experience, where my teachers are always available for help and friends are very inclusive. It is a lot of work at times, but the resources make it easier. ... Read 92 reviews

Students 599

#14 Best Private High Schools in America .

LAKEVILLE, CT ,

92 Niche users give it an average review of 4.5 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says The Hotchkiss School is a wonderful academic institution that prepares you not only for college, but to be a better global citizen. I really appreciate the boarding experience, where my teachers are... .

Read 92 reviews.

Students : 599 ,

Horace Mann School

  • • Rating 4.32 out of 5   154 reviews

Parent: A current HM parent whose child joined 9G, I had big expectations that have been exceeded. I expected the school to nurture our child's intellectual potential, it is the manner in which this has been cultivated that is impressive -- the depth of critical discussions (feels like college-level engagement), feedback for growth, and a deeply personal and caring network of support from student advisers to social and academic issues is intentional, accessible and thoughtful. The school deserves its STEM reputation, not just due to faculty, facilities and rigor, but equally because of the curiosity-driven and creative space teachers bring to the experience. One thing for HM to change is to bring more prominence to more sports that student athletes do well in, from waterpolo to fencing and field hockey etc. Sports and teamwork are also part of the HM equation but are sometimes overlooked. ... Read 154 reviews

Students 1,793

#15 Best Private High Schools in America .

154 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Parent says A current HM parent whose child joined 9G, I had big expectations that have been exceeded. I expected the school to nurture our child's intellectual potential, it is the manner in which this has been... .

Read 154 reviews.

Students : 1,793 ,

St. Mark's School of Texas

Dallas, TX •

  • • Rating 4.65 out of 5   82 reviews

Senior: Although small, the St. Mark's community is great as there are a myriad of ways to connect with others. One example is how the Seniors get little buddies (1st through 3rd graders) that they interact with throughout the year, and at the all School Christmas party, bring their little buddy in on their shoulders and let them put an ornament on the Christmas Tree. This is only one of the many ways that St. Mark's brings everyone in the community together. Even if some of the courses are hard, the teachers are great and willing to meet outside of class to help students out. There are also many ways for parents to be involved in the St. Mark's community. ... Read 82 reviews

Students 911

Student-teacher ratio 9:1

#16 Best Private High Schools in America .

DALLAS, TX ,

82 Niche users give it an average review of 4.6 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says Although small, the St. Mark's community is great as there are a myriad of ways to connect with others. One example is how the Seniors get little buddies (1st through 3rd graders) that they interact... .

Read 82 reviews.

Students : 911 ,

Student-Teacher Ratio : 9 to 1 ,

Flintridge Preparatory School

La Canada Flintridge, CA •

  • • Rating 4.64 out of 5   110 reviews

Alum: steller incredible academics! I felt so prepared for my Ivy League school after attending Prep for 6 years. The community is incredible; welcoming and friendly. Administration empowers students and gives them a voice in decision making. Teachers are helpful and want you to succeed. My only complaint was that there was a teacher who went around calling us “wild Indians” when we misbehaved. I believe he has retired but still teaches summer and cpr classes ... Read 110 reviews

Students 530

#17 Best Private High Schools in America .

LA CANADA FLINTRIDGE, CA ,

110 Niche users give it an average review of 4.6 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says steller incredible academics! I felt so prepared for my Ivy League school after attending Prep for 6 years. The community is incredible; welcoming and friendly. Administration empowers students and... .

Read 110 reviews.

Students : 530 ,

Castilleja School

Palo Alto, CA •

  • • Rating 4.37 out of 5   65 reviews

Parent: Over the recent years, some argue that our schools have been influenced by certain so called 'progressive' ideologies. I feel the current version is not the traditional progressive ideology but a hijacked extremist version of it. Supporters of these ideologies appear to question the traditional merit-based system and place a strong emphasis on discussing matters primarily through racial lens. Martin luther king spent his entire life fighting for a colorblind society and here we are injecting race into everything which is is extremely corrosive . Historically, societies have "only" thrived on systems that prioritize merit and fairness. It is essential to emphasize a bias-free, merit-based system that doesn't take race into account, ensuring that humankind progresses and uplifts everyone in the process. As a Hispanic immigrant parent, I am proud of Castilleja for championing the values of courage, truth, and equal opportunity for all members of our diverse society. ... Read 65 reviews

Students 424

#18 Best Private High Schools in America .

PALO ALTO, CA ,

65 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Parent says Over the recent years, some argue that our schools have been influenced by certain so called 'progressive' ideologies. I feel the current version is not the traditional progressive ideology but a... Supporters of these ideologies appear to question the traditional merit-based system and place a strong emphasis on discussing matters primarily through racial lens. Martin luther king spent his... Historically, societies have "only" thrived on systems that prioritize merit and fairness. It is essential to emphasize a bias-free, merit-based system that doesn't take race into account, ensuring... As a Hispanic immigrant parent, I am proud of Castilleja for championing the values of courage, truth, and equal opportunity for all members of our diverse society. .

Read 65 reviews.

Students : 424 ,

Crystal Springs Uplands School

  • • Rating 4.43 out of 5   51 reviews

Senior: Crystal is definitely a humanities-focused school. The English and history programs are very demanding, and the honors-level classes require significant time and effort to excel. It's small, so a proportional number of classes is expected, but a large share of the electives are concentrated in the history and English departments. The STEM side is much more limited and mandatory CS classes for underclassmen are a joke. You will also choose very few of your classes until senior year. While there are a small number of teachers known as ones to avoid, the majority of teachers are very knowledgeable and approachable. Poor administration in areas such as food (as they continually negotiate the contract down) and a commitment to wasting time with endeavors like DEI and various mandatory meetings detract from the school's academic mission. On some days it feels like I'm spending more time listening to guest speakers than studying. However, facilities are generally new and well-maintained. ... Read 51 reviews

Students 565

#19 Best Private High Schools in America .

51 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says Crystal is definitely a humanities-focused school. The English and history programs are very demanding, and the honors-level classes require significant time and effort to excel. It's small, so a... Poor administration in areas such as food (as they continually negotiate the contract down) and a commitment to wasting time with endeavors like DEI and various mandatory meetings detract from the... .

Read 51 reviews.

Students : 565 ,

The Brearley School

  • • Rating 4.43 out of 5   94 reviews

Senior: As a senior I can say without a doubt that my experience at Brearley has been truly transformative. The academics are absolutely wonderful, and the teachers are so kind and always willing to set up a "float" to meet with you to help study for a test, answer questions about an essay, or just to clear up confusion. I am a three season athlete, and I wouldn't trade the community I have found through Brearley athletics for anything. Our soccer team recently won the AAIS championship and placed second in NYSAIS, and our squash team is currently undefeated- that is to say I have found Brearley athletics both sufficiently competitive and also fun! ... Read 94 reviews

Students 776

#20 Best Private High Schools in America .

94 Niche users give it an average review of 4.4 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says As a senior I can say without a doubt that my experience at Brearley has been truly transformative. The academics are absolutely wonderful, and the teachers are so kind and always willing to set up a... .

Read 94 reviews.

Students : 776 ,

The Loomis Chaffee School

Windsor, CT •

  • • Rating 4.28 out of 5   147 reviews

Alum: Loomis Chaffee was a wonderful school I was so grateful to attend all four years of my high school career. From my freshman year to my last year, Loomis's community was outstanding. Although I was new I never felt like I was a stranger to the campus. It would be a lie to say my experience was smooth especially when this was my first time living at school and being away from home. But while encountering these problems I had a great support system from Loomis and any problem I had was easily solved by upper class men and even faculty in the dorms. One thing I would like to see change is the visitation inside dorms. After covid it has been quite strict ever since and visiting my friends in other dorms before covid was how many of my best memories were created. However this change is not nesscessary to for boarding students to still have fun on campus. ... Read 147 reviews

Students 736

#21 Best Private High Schools in America .

WINDSOR, CT ,

147 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Alum says Loomis Chaffee was a wonderful school I was so grateful to attend all four years of my high school career. From my freshman year to my last year, Loomis's community was outstanding. Although I was... .

Read 147 reviews.

Students : 736 ,

The Lawrenceville School

Lawrenceville, NJ •

  • • Rating 4.33 out of 5   180 reviews

Junior: As a student here, I adore the school. Lawrenceville is very academically challenging, and the classes are rigorous. The classes, however, are incredibly interesting and engaging; whether through working in groups in advanced math classes or having the school's trademark Harkness discussions in English classes, Lawrenceville cultivates a great learning environment. There is also an extensive amount of clubs for everyone with any interest, as well as publications. House culture is very strong; the entire experience is often described as more like college than high school! In my experience, day students are also well integrated into the culture and the plethora of activities; you can go home as soon as classes end or at 8pm each night. If you are a student looking for a competitive, challenging, fun, and rewarding high school and academic experience, come to Lawrenceville! ... Read 180 reviews

Students 822

#22 Best Private High Schools in America .

LAWRENCEVILLE, NJ ,

180 Niche users give it an average review of 4.3 stars.

Featured Review: Junior says As a student here, I adore the school. Lawrenceville is very academically challenging, and the classes are rigorous. The classes, however, are incredibly interesting and engaging; whether through... .

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Trinity School

  • • Rating 3.97 out of 5   79 reviews

Senior: Lots of opportunities to do things and the worst part was when there was the opportunity, but I could figure out how to get to it. Generally good with Financial Aid with some exceptions like having to be in a music program in order to get music lessons, but largley only being able to be in a program if you already played something. The athletic options were good, both on teams and otherwise. The art department was fantastic and many students were close with the teachers. Though other kids' experiences varied, I liked all my teachers. We learned a lot and had easy accessibility to things outside of the classroom, including trips, (moderately) job opportunities, hearing from speakers and alumni, community service, general get-to-gethers/events, and more. ... Read 79 reviews

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#23 Best Private High Schools in America .

79 Niche users give it an average review of 4 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says Lots of opportunities to do things and the worst part was when there was the opportunity, but I could figure out how to get to it. Generally good with Financial Aid with some exceptions like having... .

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Dwight Global Online School

West Palm Beach, FL •

  • • Rating 4.9 out of 5   174 reviews

Parent: DGOS has been a great experience for our daughter. It has allowed her to continue to challenge herself academically with an extremely wide breadth of AP, IB and other advanced course offerings and highly engaged teachers, while at the same time providing her the flexibility to pursue her sport at a high level. Many students at DGOS have a time consuming extracurricular activity and the teachers and administrators are very understanding and accommodating without sacrificing academics to do so. The annual in-person events, Orientation and STEAM Week, are highlights and widely attended by DGOS students from all over, allowing students to get to know their classmates and teachers in person, rare for an online school, and truly deepens relationships and changes the dynamic for students on an on-going basis. A few days exploring NYC with new friends and creating in person memories is a great additional benefit! Highly recommend DGOS. ... Read 174 reviews

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#24 Best Private High Schools in America .

WEST PALM BEACH, FL ,

174 Niche users give it an average review of 4.9 stars.

Featured Review: Parent says DGOS has been a great experience for our daughter. It has allowed her to continue to challenge herself academically with an extremely wide breadth of AP, IB and other advanced course offerings and... .

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Crimson Global Academy, USA

  • • Rating 4.77 out of 5   64 reviews

Senior: It is a wonderful experience studying with CGA! I am given multiple opportunities outside of academics to grow my student profile, through the means of clubs, events, webinars, competitions and projects. I was also helped extensively with my SAT preparation, alongside my 4 AP classes. The student-faculty ratio at CGA is perfect for a productive suggestion. CGA has also given me the opportunity to grow my extracurricular activities. I am a violinist and guitarist. CGA’s flexible time schedule has helped me give more time to my passion, which I was struggling to do in an offline school. If you are looking for world class education at your doorstep, CGA is perfect for you. ... Read 64 reviews

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#25 Best Private High Schools in America .

64 Niche users give it an average review of 4.8 stars.

Featured Review: Senior says It is a wonderful experience studying with CGA! I am given multiple opportunities outside of academics to grow my student profile, through the means of clubs, events, webinars, competitions and projects. I was also helped extensively with my SAT... CGA has also given me the opportunity to grow my extracurricular activities. I am a violinist and guitarist. CGA’s flexible time schedule has helped me give more time to my passion, which I was... If you are looking for world class education at your doorstep, CGA is perfect for you. .

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Should state allocate even more public funds for unregulated private schools? O-H-I-NO.

Ohio used to be 5th in the nation when it comes to education. Since Republicans have taken over, we’ve fallen to 29th.

The right-wing Buckeye Institute released a policy brief on Jan. 16 detailing their recommendations for the One-Time Strategic Community Investments Fund. Unsurprisingly, their top proposal is to create a slush fund for private and charter schools to use public dollars to improve and expand their buildings, or even build new ones. They claim that because of the increase in students receiving vouchers, classroom space for these students is decreasing at a rate they are unprepared to support.

During the state budget process, House and Senate Republicans decided to expand the school voucher program to promote school “choice” (mostly for students already attending private religious schools). However, early reports indicate that it is already way over last year’s budget estimates . So, in addition to allocating hundreds of millions of dollars to just 150,000 students while also diverting precious funds away from our public schools, the state might consider proposals to give even more money to less-regulated schools.

Why don’t we focus on the 90% of Ohio students who go to public schools? You’ll hear Republicans complain that public schools are “failing” or “underperforming,” but at some point, we have to stop and ask ourselves why that might be the case. It could be because

  • We are asking public schools to continuously do more with less.
  • We are not adequately paying our teachers a salary that reflects the hard work they put in.
  • We are not adequately preparing students for the K-12 classroom by refusing to even consider universal pre-k.

It has been said that if you give someone a fish, you feed them for a day, but if you teach them to fish, you feed them for life. We are expecting public schools to teach over 1 million students without even leading them to a fishing spot, much less giving them a pole and step-by-step directions.

If we were really a “pro-life, pro-child” state, we would do more to address the core issue: students, teachers, and families need more resources! Students are struggling in schools and we’re diverting away necessary funds because, as Republicans claim, there’s no saving them.

Our school funding system was declared unconstitutional in 1997. Our new Fair School Funding Plan is still being phased in because of a lack of funding. Rather than moving to fully subsidize private, religious education , we should fully back our once highly rated education system that has been chronically underfunded despite Ohio Supreme Court decisions.

State Senator Bill DeMora (D-Columbus) represents Ohio’s 25th Senate District, which encompasses areas of Franklin County, including Columbus' Clintonville, Italian Village, Northland, Ohio State University District, South Linden and Victorian Village neighborhoods, Grandview Heights and Upper Arlington.

V. I.   Lenin

“cultural-national” autonomy.

Published: Za Pravdu No. 46, November 28, 1913. Published according to the Za Pravdu text. Source: Lenin Collected Works , Progress Publishers, 1977 , Moscow, Volume 19 , pages  503-507 . Translated: The Late George Hanna Transcription\Markup: Charles Farrell Public Domain: Lenin Internet Archive (2000). You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and commercial works. Please credit “Marxists Internet Archive” as your source. • README

The essence of the plan, or programme, of what is called “cultural-national” autonomy (or: “the establishment of institutions that will guarantee freedom of national development”) is separate schools for each nationality .

The more often all avowed and tacit nationalists (including the Bundists) attempt to obscure this fact the more we must insist on it.

Every nation, irrespective of place of domicile of its individual members (irrespective of territory, hence the term “extra-territorial” autonomy) is a united officially recognised association conducting national-cultural affairs. The most important of these affairs is education. The determination of the composition of the nations by allowing every citizen to register freely, irrespective of place of domicile, as belonging to any national association, ensures absolute precision and absolute consistency in segregating the schools according to nationality.

Is such a division, be it asked, permissible from the point of view of democracy in general, and from the point of view of the interests of the proletarian class struggle in particular?

A clear grasp of the essence of the “cultural-national autonomy” programme is sufficient to enable one to reply without hesitation—it is absolutely impermissible.

As long as different nations live in a single state they are bound to one another by millions and thousands of millions of economic, legal and social bonds. How can education be extricated from these bonds? Can it be “taken out of the jurisdiction” of the state, to quote the Bund formula,   classical in its striking absurdity? If the various nations living in a single state are bound by economic ties, then any attempt to divide them permanently in “cultural” and particularly educational matters would be absurd and reactionary. On the contrary, efforts should be made to unite the nations in educational matters, so that the schools should be a preparation for what is actually done in real life. At the present time we see that the different nations are unequal in the rights they possess and in their level of development. Under these circumstances, segregating the schools accord lug to nationality would actually and inevitably worsen the conditions of the more backward nations. In the Southern, former slave States of America, Negro children are still segregated in separate schools, whereas in the North, white and Negro children attend the same schools. In Russia a plan was recently proposed for the “nationalisation of Jewish schools”, i.e., the segregation of Jewish children from the children of other nationalities in separate schools. It is needless to add that this plan originated in the most reactionary, Purishkevich circles.

One cannot be a democrat and at the same time advocate the principle of segregating the schools according to nationality. Note: we are arguing at present from the general democratic (i.e., bourgeois-democratic) point of view.

From the point of view of the proletarian class struggle we must oppose segregating the schools according to nationality far more emphatically. Who does not know that the capitalists of all the nations in a given state are most closely and intimately united in joint-stock companies, cartels and trusts, in manufacturers’ associations, etc., which are directed against the workers irrespective of their nationality? Who does not know that in any capitalist undertaking—from huge works, mines and factories and commercial enterprises down to capitalist farms—we always , without exception, see a larger variety of nationalities among the workers than in remote, peaceful and sleepy villages?

The urban workers, who are best acquainted with developed capitalism and perceive more profoundly the psychology of the class struggle—their whole life teaches them or they perhaps imbibe it with their mothers’ milk—such workers instinctively and inevitably realise that segregating   the schools according to nationality is not only a harm jut scheme, but a downright fraudulent swindle on the part of the capitalists . The workers can be split up, divided and weakened by the advocacy of such an idea, and still more by the segregation, of the ordinary peoples’ schools according to nationality; while the capitalists, whose children are well provided with rich private schools and specially engaged tutors, cannot in any way be threatened by any division or weakening through “cultural-national autonomy”.

As a matter of fact, “cultural-national autonomy”, i.e., the absolutely pure and consistent segregating of education according to nationality, was invented not by the capitalists ( for the time being they resort to cruder methods to divide the workers) but by the opportunist, philistine intelligentsia of Austria. There is not a trace of this brilliantly philistine and brilliantly nationalist idea in any of the democratic West-European countries with mixed populations. This idea of the despairing petty bourgeois could arise only in Eastern Europe, in backward, feudal, clerical, bureaucratic Austria, where all public and political life is hampered by wretched, petty squabbling (worse still: cursing and brawling) over the question of languages. Since cat and dog can’t agree, let us at least segregate all the nations once and for all absolutely clearly and consistently in “national curias” for educational purposes!—such is the psychology that engendered this foolish idea of “cultural-national autonomy”. The proletariat, which is conscious of and cherishes its internationalism, will never accept this nonsense of refined nationalism.

It is no accident that in Russia this idea of “cultural-national autonomy” was accepted only by all the Jewish bourgeois parties, then (in 1907) by the conference of the petty-bourgeois Left-Narodnik parties of different nationalities, and lastly by the petty-bourgeois, opportunist elements of the near-Marxist groups, i.e., the Bundists and the liquidators (the latter were even too timid to do so straightforwardly and definitely). It is no accident that in the State Duma only the semi-liquidator Chkhenkeli, who is infected with nationalism, and the petty-bourgeois Kerensky, spoke in favour of “cultural-national autonomy”.

In general, it is quite funny to read the liquidator and Bundist references to Austria on this question. First of all, why should the most backward of the multinational countries be taken as the model ? Why not take the most advanced? This is very much in the style of the bad Russian liberals, the Cadets, who for models of a constitution turn mainly to such backward countries as Prussia and Austria, and not to advanced countries like France, Switzerland and America!

Secondly, after taking the Austrian model, the Russian nationalist philistines, i.e., the Bundists, liquidators, Left Narodniks, and so forth, have themselves changed it for the worse . In this country it is the Bundists (plus all the Jewish bourgeois parties, in whose wake the Bundists follow without always realising it) that mainly and primarily use this plan for “cultural-national autonomy” in their propaganda and agitation; and yet in Austria, the country where this idea of “cultural-national autonomy” originated, Otto Bauer, the father of the idea, devoted a special chapter of his book top roving that “cultural-national autonomy” cannot be applied to the Jews!

This proves more conclusively than lengthy speeches how inconsistent Otto Bauer is and how little he believes in his own idea, for he excludes the only extra-territorial (not having its own territory) nation from his plan for extra-territorial national autonomy.

This shows how Bundists borrow old-fashioned plans from Europe, multiply the mistakes of Europe tenfold and “develop” them to the point of absurdity.

The fact is—and this is the third point—that at their congress in Br\"unn (in 1899) the Austrian Social-Democrats rejected the programme of “cultural-national autonomy” that was proposed to them. They merely adopted a compromise in the form of a proposal for a union of the nationally delimited regions of the country. This compromise did not provide either for extra-territoriality or for segregating education according to nationality. In accordance with this compromise, in the most advanced (capitalistically) populated centres, towns, factory and mining districts, large country estates, etc., there are no separate schools for each nationality!

The Russian working class has been combating this reactionary, pernicious, petty-bourgeois nationalist idea of “cultural-national autonomy”, and will continue to do so.

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New York City schools went online instead of calling a snow day. It didn’t go well

New York City’s plan to have students go remote instead of a snow day didn’t go quite as planned. Many students, teachers and administrators were unable to log in to their accounts. City officials blamed on a technology contractor. (Feb. 13) (AP Video: Joseph B. Frederick)

A woman plays with a child that is sledding in New York's Central Park Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. Technology glitches kept many New York City teachers and students from virtual classes Tuesday — the first attempt by the country's largest school system to switch to remote learning for a snow storm since the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

A woman plays with a child that is sledding in New York’s Central Park Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. Technology glitches kept many New York City teachers and students from virtual classes Tuesday — the first attempt by the country’s largest school system to switch to remote learning for a snow storm since the COVID-19 pandemic. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)

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A person works to clear wet and heavy snow from a sidewalk during a winter storm in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

NEW YORK (AP) — When New York City officials got wind of the major winter storm headed their way, they rewound the clock four years, reopened their coronavirus pandemic playbook, and announced that instead of canceling school, teachers and students would once again meet online. No snow day.

Mayor Eric Adams said it was important to give children enrolled in the nation’s largest school system stability considering the massive upheaval to education the pandemic had caused throughout the country. Some school districts in other states have done the same since adopting the technology essential in 2020 to make virtual school days possible.

Unfortunately for Adams, the plan didn’t go so well: Many students, teachers and administrators were unable to log in to their accounts — a problem that city officials blamed on a technology contractor.

Naveed Hasan, a Manhattan resident, said he struggled to get his 4-year-old daughter logged on because of the district’s technical issues even though his 9-year-old son was able to gain access. He hoped to take both out for sledding later in the day.

Nelson Taylor, of Providence, R.I., left, uses cross-country skis while making his way along a residential street, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024, in Providence. Parts of the Northeast have been hit by a coastal storm that's dumping snow and packing strong winds in some areas, while others aren't getting as much snow as anticipated. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

“It honestly worked out for the best,” Hasan said. “I’d rather not have the youngest on a device all day anyways.”

Schools nationwide shuttered classrooms for the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, and some did not reopen fully for more than a year. Some children barely logged on , and many struggled with the social isolation.

The months spent with online education were marked by widespread learning losses . Young students often struggled with the technology, and some parents said online learning was a factor in their decision to delay enrolling their kids .

In a November 2020 survey conducted by the EdWeek Research Center, 39% of district leaders said they had converted snow days to remote learning. Another 32% said they would consider the change. But in recent years, some districts, including Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia, have reverted to prepandemic snow day policies. School systems in Boston and Hartford, Connecticut, among many others, closed in response to Tuesday’s storm.

Connecticut does not allow remote learning on a snow day to count toward the minimum 180 learning days in the school calendar. The state weighed factors such as the challenges of setting up remote classrooms on short notice, and local officials also reported that parents and students wanted traditional snow days, said Irene Parizi, chief academic officer for the state Department of Education.

“Let them have their snow day and go sledding and have their hot chocolate and things like that,” Parizi said.

With schools closed in Columbia, Connecticut, Susan Smith spent the day at home with her three children, ages 14, 11 and 8. She said she likes traditional snow days, but would also like to see remote learning on some bad weather days.

“I still remember being a kid and really looking forward to snow days, so I don’t want to completely wipe that off the map with remote learning,” Smith said.

Adams defended the decision to have NYC schools operate virtually.

“Using this as a teaching moment to have our children learn how to continue the expansion of remote learning is so important,” the mayor said in an interview on WPIX-TV Monday evening. “We fell back in education because of COVID. We cannot afford our young people to miss school days.”

Gina Cirrito, a parent on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, said she appreciated the structure the remote classes provided for her three sons, even if Tuesday morning was a bit of rough sledding in her household.

“I know people around the country get really frustrated with the idea of these remote days and not just letting the kids have a day,” she said. “But I don’t think the teachers are asking above and beyond and to be honest, they’re so far behind. If there’s a way to keep their (students’) brains a little engaged, I’m all for it.”

Cirrito said the family had to work through some early morning logistics, including making sure everyone had a functioning computer and a quiet spot in the apartment to work — only to run into the district’s login issues.

By about 9:15 a.m. her sons — ages 10, 13 and 17 — had settled into the day’s routine.

“For the kids, it’s like riding a bike. Like, ‘Here we go again,’” Cirrito said.

New York City officials did not say how many students were prevented from accessing online classes but they blamed the problem on their technology contractor, IBM. While both teachers and students recently participated in simulations to prepare for remote instruction, IBM was not involved in those walk-throughs, officials said at a news conference.

“IBM was not ready for prime time. That’s what happened here,” said New York City Schools Chancellor David Banks.

In a statement, IBM said it had been “working closely with New York City schools to address this situation as quickly as possible.”

“The issues have been largely resolved, and we regret the inconvenience to students and parents across the city,” the statement read.

The morning technical glitches only added to the stress for teachers already scrambling to pivot lessons and assignments to remote work, said Michael Mulgrew, president of the United Federation of Teachers, which represents roughly 200,000 NYC public schools teachers and staff.

But Mulgrew said educators anticipated trouble after their experience with distance learning during the pandemic. He noted that by 12:30 p.m., 900,000 students and teachers were utilizing the district’s remote learning system — a testament, he said, to how teachers were able to keep their classes engaged despite the morning challenges.

“It’s also a good lesson for students,” he said. “This is what happens when things go wrong. You don’t get frustrated or angry. You got to figure it out.”

Mulgrew added that this year’s school calendar only allows for one or so snow days, “so you want to save that, just in case.”

Still, Hasan, a software developer, wondered whether students and teachers alike would have been better served with a snow day, even as he acknowledged Tuesday’s accumulations in the city might not have warranted it in a bygone era.

“It’s like a mental health day for kids to just go and play,” he said. “It’s already enough of a challenge for parents to figure out how they are going to do their work.”

Ma reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press writer Jake Offenhartz in New York and Pat Eaton-Robb in Columbia, Connecticut, contributed to this report.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org .

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Russia bans entry to foreign nationals, closes schools

Reporting by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber and Alexander Marrow, editing by Maria Kiselyova, William Maclean

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Former U.S. President Trump attends a hearing on a criminal case linked to a hush money payment in New York City

UK court tells VietJet not to interfere with export of repossessed jets

A UK judge has ordered Vietnam's VietJet to refrain from interfering in the export of jets repossessed by a leasing firm in the latest twist to a dispute that has put one of the fastest-growing aviation markets under the spotlight.

A self-driving GM Bolt EV is seen during a media event where Cruise, GM's autonomous car unit, showed off its self-driving cars in San Francisco

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Ivey: Port of Mobile had nearly $100 billion impact on Alabama economy

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Legislature

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, said he is expecting to substitute the current bill to include some kind of spending limitation.

Published on February 15, 2024 at 7:21 am CST

private schools no homework

Gov. Kay Ivey’s plan to provide $7,000 tax credits to students attending private school will statutorily cost taxpayers at least $100 million.

Wednesday, concerned groups asked lawmakers, if $100 million is “the floor,” what is the ceiling?

“You’ve given us a floor, but there’s no ceiling. We have s base amount that we’re obligated  to spend each year, but there’s nothing on the other end of that,” said Ashley McLain, director of advocacy and engagement for the School Superintendents of Alabama. 

Sen. Arthur Orr, R-Decatur, chair of the Senate Finance and Taxation Committee said those changes are in the works and expects a vote on the revised bill next week.

Senate Bill 61, dubbed by Ivey as the CHOOSE Act by Ivey, would create a tax credit of up to $7,000 per year per pupil for parents who send their students to qualifying private schools. In the first two years of the program, only families who make up to 300 percent of the poverty level would be eligible for the credit, which would then open to all students. Homeschooled students would only be able to receive up to $2,000 per year in tax credits, and the bill caps total annual homeschool credits to $4,000 per family.

As the program expands, there are concerns that the program could cost the state much more than the $100 million baseline that has been promoted alongside the bill.

“It could be as high as $500 million, $600 million a year; we’ll just have to see the annual choice that is made,” said Allison King, government relations director for the Alabama Education Association.

Education groups also have concerns about the testing requirement and how private schools will be compared to public schools if different metrics are used.

“If competition breeds improvement, then we need to know that we’re in a head-to-head and what does that look like?” McLain asked.

Public schools are held accountable to a standardized test called ACAP, and McLain said public school superintendents want to see private schools held to that same standard to ensure students are receiving a quality education.

Nick Moore, education policy advisor and coordinator for the governor’s office of education and workforce transformation, said the bill gives a variety of testing options to ensure that students are being evaluated and schools are being held accountable, while not enforcing a specific curriculum on private schools.

“For the purposes of an ESA, if everybody has to take the ACAP, that is truly comparing apples and oranges” Moore said. “If we want to compare apples to apples, we’re going to make sure the if it’s a Catholic school or another high-quality private or Christian school or whatever it is that’s participating, that they have an assessment that’s aligned to their standards …”

Supporters of the bill continued, as in years past with the PRICE Act, to argue that school funding should follow the student and not be used to “prop up” institutions. They also argue that it will not defund public schools because it will not impact formulas for funding public schools and most of the participating students will not be leaving public schools, thereby impacting their enrollment figures.

Jacob Holmes is a reporter at the Alabama Political Reporter. You can reach him at [email protected]

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N.J. school closings, delayed openings due to heavy snow for Tuesday (Feb. 13, 2024)

  • Updated: Feb. 13, 2024, 10:06 a.m. |
  • Published: Feb. 12, 2024, 5:04 p.m.
  • Chris Sheldon | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
  • Nicolas Fernandes | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

New Jersey school districts have started to announce closures and delayed openings for Tuesday due to a major winter storm expected to dump 6 to 12 inches of snow across much of northern New Jersey overnight and into the morning commute.

The timing of the heaviest snowfall could make driving conditions Tuesday morning particularly treacherous across more than half of the state.

  • ALSO: Early snowfall totals show 10 inches on ground in some N.J. towns

Even areas in central New Jersey where lesser amounts of 1 to 4 inches of snow are expected, a switch from rain to snow at some point early Tuesday could create a messy, slushy mix on roads, according to the National Weather Service ’s forecast. Winds could also gust to 35 mph.

The weather service has issued winter storm warnings and advisories for nearly the entire state.

School districts in the following counties have announced schedule changes for Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2024:

BERGEN COUNTY

BURLINGTON COUNTY

ESSEX COUNTY

HUDSON COUNTY

HUNTERDON COUNTY

MERCER COUNTY

MIDDLESEX COUNTY

MONMOUTH COUNTY

MORRIS COUNTY

PASSAIC COUNTY

SOMERSET COUNTY

SUSSEX COUNTY

UNION COUNTY

WARREN COUNTY

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  2. No Homework Ban In Elmhurst D205

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  3. How a "no-homework" policy is working for these schools

    private schools no homework

  4. Why I’m against the no-homework policy that schools are adopting

    private schools no homework

  5. Thinking About a No Homework Policy? Here's What You Should Know

    private schools no homework

  6. Marion County schools ban homework for students

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COMMENTS

  1. Which Schools Have No Homework?

    April 2014 Not sure these exist, particularly in the public school domain, but worth a shot: Wondering whether there are schools out there, either public or private, that do not give elementary school children homework.

  2. Alternative School Has No Grades, Tests, Homework; Here's How It Works

    Private school is expensive, and I didn't have the patience to homeschool. So I started to consider affordable alternative schooling options in our area. I first heard about a local K-12...

  3. Schools try no-homework policies amid complaints about overload

    The Buffalo Academy of Scholars, a private school in Buffalo, New York, touts that it has called "a truce in the homework battle" and promises that families can "enjoy stress-free,...

  4. Should Kids Get Homework?

    March 11, 2022, at 9:34 a.m. Getty Images Effective homework reinforces math, reading, writing or spelling skills, but in a way that's meaningful. How much homework students should get has long...

  5. Tough New York Private Schools Try to Lighten Load

    In a separate study of 26 schools, Ms. Pope said, 67 percent of more than 10,000 students reported that they were "often" or "always" stressed out. "At some point, we say too much is too ...

  6. 'No Homework' Policy: What The Research Shows

    Three bills that aim to limit, if not totally ban, homework in schools are currently pending in Congress, eliciting mixed reactions from parents, students and teachers alike this past week. The first measure, Senate Bill No. 966, authored by Sen. Grace Poe aims to limit homework of students from Kinder to Grade 12 to weekdays.

  7. If Elementary Schools Say No to Homework, What Takes Its Place?

    The so-called "no homework" movement is focused on elementary grades, but framing the choice as "no homework vs. homework" is misguided, according to Maurice Elias of Rutgers University and co-author of Emotionally Intelligent Parenting and The Joys and Oys of Parenting. "Ideally, we want children to understand that they are always learners.

  8. NAIS

    As part of their professional development, faculty members at The Park School of Baltimore (MD) explored the role that homework plays at their school. They built the following guidelines to help teachers create a new model for assigning homework. Children have the right to playtime, extracurricular activities, downtime, and adequate sleep.

  9. No Teachers, No Class, No Homework

    A.S. Neill in a Summerhill classroom (John Walmsley) In Massachusetts farm country, not far from Boston, a group of about 200 students of all ages are part of a radical experiment. These students ...

  10. Why I'm a Public-School Teacher but a Private-School Parent

    At the private school, personal engagement was the new "cool," and any interruption was going to annoy everybody—not just the teacher. Meanwhile, at SLOCA, the students—if only because they ...

  11. School banks on no-homework policy, longer school day to fight

    The Buffalo Academy of Scholars, a private school that already has a no-homework policy, says its structure where students complete assignments under supervision by teachers during the day is ...

  12. No homework? What's happening to our education system?

    Despite these shortcomings, many US schools have seemingly adopted a pedagogy in favor of less instruction and less practice, arguing that positive student mental health is achieved through no homework, lax standards, and "feel-good" grade inflation.

  13. Why Students Should Not Have Homework

    7 Research-Based Reasons Why Students Should Not Have Homework: Academic Insights, Opposing Perspectives & Alternatives by Simona Johnes In recent years, the question of why students should not have homework has become a topic of intense debate among educators, parents, and students themselves.

  14. School choice for some Florida parents with vouchers: no grades

    Published April 12, 2023 | Updated April 13, 2023 PALM HARBOR — At the Spring Valley School, three dozen students ages 5 to 18 are trusted to do what they want. There are no classes, grades or...

  15. Private schools: more homework but no academic advantage says OECD

    An OECD study has found that Australian private school students spend an average of 7.4 hours per week on homework, a figure among the highest in the developed world. Louie Douvis. The report ...

  16. This school without grades or homework has a 98% college ...

    According to Tavenner, research has found that mentoring improves a student's sense of belonging and success beyond grade school. Those mentors help kids actively engage in their hands-on, project-based work. Through these projects, students may design a house to put principles of geometry to work, grow their own plants, or build a model rocket.

  17. A School Without Homework

    A School Without Homework By MK Staff - October 2, 2018 0 By Susan Stopper What is the right amount of daily homework for a third grader? How about none. That's the viewpoint at The School in Rose Valley (SRV) outside Media, PA. For years, schools have relied on homework, grades, worksheets and tests to educate and evaluate students.

  18. Yes, You Can Opt Your Kids Out of Homework—Here's How

    There are no legal requirements that students complete work outside of school hours and, for many children, the actual determinants of homework outweigh the theoretical benefits.

  19. 2024 Best Private High Schools in America

    Student-teacher ratio 6:1. Riverdale Country School is a top-level NYC private school; they provide you with the resources you need in order to get into a good college, the prerequisite courses that academically prepare you.... View nearby homes Virtual tour. #12 Best Private High Schools in America.

  20. Private schools in Moscow

    List of private schools in Moscow, private education in Moscow, private high schools. Menu. Moscow. View all destinations. Login Sign up Discover Moscow The Moscow Guide The magazine View all destinations Community Events Members Pictures Services Business Directory Classifieds Jobs Housing Forum Business directory. Europe.

  21. DeMora: Ohio must put more money into public schools, not private ones

    Students are struggling in schools and we're diverting away necessary funds because, as Republicans claim, there's no saving them. Our school funding system was declared unconstitutional in 1997.

  22. Moscow schools start unplanned holidays as COVID-19 cases rise

    By Reuters Staff. 2 Min Read. MOSCOW (Reuters) - Moscow schools began unplanned holidays on Monday and businesses were required to have at least 30% of their staff working remotely, as COVID-19 ...

  23. Lenin: 'Cultural-National' Autonomy

    Published: Za Pravdu No. 46, November 28, 1913. Published according to the Za Pravdu text. Source: Lenin Collected Works, Progress Publishers, 1977, Moscow, Volume 19, pages 503-507. Translated: The Late George Hanna Transcription\Markup: Charles Farrell Public Domain: Lenin Internet Archive (2000). You may freely copy, distribute, display and perform this work; as well as make derivative and ...

  24. New York City schools went online instead of calling a snow day. It

    Connecticut does not allow remote learning on a snow day to count toward the minimum 180 learning days in the school calendar. The state weighed factors such as the challenges of setting up remote classrooms on short notice, and local officials also reported that parents and students wanted traditional snow days, said Irene Parizi, chief academic officer for the state Department of Education.

  25. What records are exempted from FERPA?

    Records that are created or received by an educational agency or institution after an individual is no longer a student in attendance and that are not directly related to the individual's attendance as a student. Records that are grades on peer-graded papers, before they are collected and recorded by a teacher.

  26. UPDATE 2-Russia bans entry to foreign nationals, closes schools

    Russian authorities on Monday banned foreign nationals from entering the country, shut state schools and limited public gatherings in Moscow in an effort to curb the spread of coronavirus.

  27. NO CAP? Detractors ask "What's the ceiling?" on private school tax credits

    Gov. Kay Ivey's plan to provide $7,000 tax credits to students attending private school will statutorily cost taxpayers at least $100 million. Wednesday, concerned groups asked lawmakers, if $100 million is "the floor," what is the ceiling? "You've given us a floor, but there's no ceiling. We have s base amount that we're ...

  28. N.J. school closings, delayed openings due to heavy snow for Tuesday

    New Jersey school districts have started to announce closures and delayed openings for Tuesday due to a major winter storm expected to dump 6 to 12 inches of snow across much of northern New ...

  29. Status of Women and Girls 2024

    Women, girls, and gender-expansive people in Minnesota continue to face persistent inequities, according to the 2024 Report on the Status of Women and Girls in Minnesota released Wednesday by the Center on Women, Gender, and Public Policy (CWGPP) at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs and the Women's Foundation of Minnesota. Those disparities are more profound for Black, Indigenous, and ...