The 10/12 administration and student senators have collaborated to create a new set of homework policies for the division, chiefly concerning when teachers may assign homework and when homework may be due. Previously, there were no clear policies surrounding the use of Canvas. “With the new tech available, we needed to clarify when teachers could post [on Canvas],” 10/12 Division Head Sonia Roth said. Before the new protocols were set, some teachers posted homework assignments or due dates in the evening or on a weekend, which made it difficult for students to manage deadlines in a timely way.

At a division meeting, faculty and administrators discussed the problems and reached a consensus, keeping in mind the lives of Academy students. With the new policy, teachers must give as much advanced notice as possible about homework, due dates for projects, papers, and tests so that students can use time to their best advantage. Teachers must now post assignments no later than 4:15 p.m., and they must alert students of the assignment during class so that the students know what materials they need to bring home.

Although the 4:15 p.m. deadline was a bit controversial, teachers agreed to it because it gave those of them with late afternoon classes time to get back to their offices and get the assignment up while still allowing students ample time to do their homework.

Sonia Roth sent out an email to present the new approach to Canvas assignments to the 10/12 Division. In the email, she asked students to let their teachers know if they do not carry out the new protocol, but Roth stressed that the rules are new and will take a bit of getting used to.

The following was included in an email Roth sent out to 10/12 students on Jan. 5:

Homework Protocols

Required of All 10-12 Classroom Teachers

1-Homework assignments must be given to students as far in advance as possible. Posting on Canvas,  writing an assignment on the board and then drawing attention to it during class, or providing the assignment in a hard copy which is then handed out to students in class are all acceptable delivery methods. Teachers must make sure that students know what materials they will need to take home each night, if any, by the end of each class each day.

2-Homework assignments must be posted on Canvas no later than 4:15pm if those assignments are due the next time the class is scheduled to meet.

3-Any homework assignment posted after 4:15pm, including over a subsequent weekend or a drop day, must not be due any sooner than the day AFTER the next class meeting day.

4-All homework assignments are due at the start of class. Assignments may not be due at the end of the school day, in the evening, on a drop day, or on a weekend.

5-Teachers may grant extensions for homework and other assignments to students who have extenuating circumstances. Examples include extended illness, a death in the family, a family emergency, etc.