Homework Help

The STM Homework Policy

Homework is an important complement to teachers' classroom instructional activities.  It is designed to reinforce skills, prepare for future instructional activities, and assist students in developing personal responsibility.  It is the teacher's responsibility to ensure that homework assignments are designed to achieve identified instructional goals and are appropriate for the students' grade level.  Our STM guidelines suggest that the amount of time required for homework average 10 minutes times the grade level.  Grade level teams will coordinate to ensure that homwork time, as well as test preparation, time is reasonable.

Homework Clinic

St. Thomas More offers a Homework Clinic for students in grades 2-8. Miss Kulischenko moderates clinic sessions in the main library on Tuesday mornings from 7:30-8:00 am and Thursday after school from 3:15-4:00 pm. This clinic is for students who need assistance in any subject area. Our homework clinic will begin the first Tuesday in October, Tuesday, October 6th. Please take advantage of this opportunity to reach your greatest potential.

Homework Grade

Each teacher has the authority to determine how homework will affect the students’ quarterly grade, but is expected that homework will have some meaningful impact. Parents and students will be informed about the teachers’ grading procedure at the beginning of the school year. It is important that parents and students become familiar with the homework grading procedure because, if students are conscientious, they can positively impact their quarterly grade. The following example is a homework grading procedure that many teachers use. It is provided here so that students and parents can see the positive effect of being conscientious about doing their homework.

One example of how homework can impact a student's grade example is provided below:

Homework Help

We value the many contributions of our STM parents, and we recognize that our positive school environment and our students' success are influenced by your support and cooperation.  The website for the National Education Association, www.nea.org, lists the following research findings concerning parental involvement.

• When parents are involved in their children's education at home, they do better in school.  And when parents are involved in school, children go farther in school--and the schools they go to are better.
• The family makes critical contributions to student achievement from preschool through high school.  A home environment that encourages learning is more important to student achievement than income, education level or cultural background.
• Reading achievement is more dependent on learning activities in the home than is math or science.  Reading aloud to children is the most important activity that parents can do to increase their child's chance of reading success.  Talking to children about books and stories read to them also supports reading achievement.
• When children and parents talk regularly about school, children perform better academically.
• Three kinds of parental involvement at home are consistently associated with higher student achievement:  actively organizing and monitoring a child's time, helping with homework and discussing school matters.
• The earlier that parent involvement begins in a child's educational process, the more powerful the effects.
• Positive results of parental involvement include improved student achievement, reduced absenteeism, improved behavior, and restored confidence among parents in their children's schooling.

There are many online resources to assist students with homework questions.  Our local library web sites provide comprehensive resource pages.  The Lower Macungie Library web site www.lowermaclib.org.  The Emmaus Public Library web site is www.emmauspl.org.  We will use our homework help webpage to list other resources as we identify them.

All students should be able to complete their homework assignments within the appropriate amount of time for the grade level. Parents should provide support and encouragement, but students should not need assistance on a regular basis. If you have concerns about your child’s difficulty completing homework on a regular basis, please contact your child’s teacher or the guidance counselor.