Harrisburg Middle School
Homework Recovery
Homework is an important part of the lessons within many HMS classes. The purposes for homework generally fall into two categories – practice and explore the current day’s lessons and/or skills and to prepare for the following lessons. All lessons are specifically designed to meet the required curriculum and content standards. With that being said, homework will vary by grade level, teacher, and subject. Also, the student’s individual ability and speed of work will affect how long each student will take to complete the assignment. As a result, in middle school there will be times when students are required to complete assignments at home. Assignments are expected to be completed neatly and fully by the designated due date. Exceptions to the completion date will only be made for students who have had an excused illness or absence and will not include school-sponsored activities unless other arrangements have been made with individual teacher. Late work will result in a student receiving less credit.
The purpose of HWR (Homework Recovery) is two-fold: provide resources for students to get their homework completed and ensure there is a supervised setting to complete the homework if the student cannot or does not complete it independently. Completion of assignments is crucial to a student’s success at school. Any student who does not complete 90% of a homework assignment on time more than once during a quarter (nine-week period) without just cause (extended illness as approved by administration, family emergency such as death, serious illness, tragedy) will be required to attend HWR if the assignment is not submitted to the teacher by 8:05 the following day. Students will continue to attend lunch HWR sessions, which we term ZAP (zeroes aren’t permitted), until the homework is completed and submitted to the instructor. Students receiving excessive ZAP’s may be issued Saturday School at the discretion of administration. All late assignments will receive a 10% grade reduction.
Teachers, parents and students are strongly encouraged to develop a system for providing support and assistance with homework by making individual appointments to collaborate and provide assistance (usually before school, after school, or during directed studies). Power Hour, an after-school tutoring program, is also available to students as a resource for assistance and to ensure that they have adequate supervised time for completion of their homework. Parents are responsible to make transportation arrangements for their student.
Students who continue to struggle will be referred to the counselor and administration for consideration for referral to a Teacher Assistance Team (which will be headed by the student’s advisor). If necessary, a plan will be developed and put in place to help the student to get homework done in a timely manner which may include an immediate help session or other alternatives developed by the TAT team. The plan may also include, but is not limited to, checking in with advisor (or another teacher) before or after school, positive incentives, staying after school on designated days to work on homework, increased communication with parents, or other team-generated solutions. Teams will track student success and adjust plans as necessary.
Procedure for HOMEWORK RECOVERY:
1. Teacher writes pass to office for student to contact their parents regarding the late assignment.
2. Student reports to office to call parents and then reports back to classroom for the remainder of the period.
3. If the student completes their school work before 8:05 the next morning, the student should submit the homework to their teacher and the teacher should remove the student’s name from the HWR list.
4. If homework is not completed, the student will be ZAPPED, attending a HWR sessions until the homework is completed.