BURBANK : Making Homework a Family Affair

Homework isn’t just for students anymore in Burbank.

The Burbank school board is rewriting its nine-year-old policy on homework, trying to underscore the importance of parents getting involved in their children’s education.

The new policy is to be presented to the board for a vote next month. It is needed because of dramatic changes in education in recent years, such as the cluster programs being used at John Burroughs High School, where teachers work in teams to give assignments, said Bob Fraser, director of elementary education and categorical programs.

A workshop on homework was held by the Burbank school board last week with students, teachers and parents representing all grade levels giving input for what may become the new board policy, the first time it has been rewritten since 1984.

“Homework for homework’s sake,” is a policy that the board is trying to move away from, Fraser said. Instead of just being something to do, homework is being viewed more as a way of learning organizational and time-management skills, Fraser said.

Teachers are finding innovative new tools for education and ways of getting parents involved.

Teachers at Luther Burbank Middle School, for example, have been sending students home with binders that list homework assignments so that parents can keep track of what their children should be doing.

Some Burbank schools have experimented with high-tech approaches to homework, such as establishing telephone hot lines for parents to call to check on assignments. But Burbank educators tend to favor the personal approach where a better level of contact with parents is possible, Fraser said.

Students have probably already seen most effects of a new policy, but the action reinforces that a public education in Burbank is not just about what happens in the classroom, Fraser said.

“They’ve got to participate in the homework part of it and maximize their education,” Fraser said.

The new policy is to be presented to the board on Dec. 9.