Orchard Elementary parents say yes to no-homework
Teachers at Orchard voted unanimously before the start of the school year to end homework for their kindergarten through fifth-grade students.
According to the state, transferable skills are multi-step tasks like writing assignments, science experiments and presentations.
Lolly Bliss, a fifth-grade teacher with 25 years' experience, said her students will be prepared to accomplish more because they are freed from busywork — which is how she defined some homework.
Tara Chitko, the mother of a third-grader, said in a phone interview that she enrolled her daughter in private school where she now has 30 minutes of homework per night.
Some parents on Friday still had questions about the policy, but there wasn't a negative word to be found in the hallway as parents waited on benches for their children to bust through the double doors.?
Students are now introduced to math concepts through tactile understanding and pictures, rather than memorizing formulas, Lamphier said, describing teaching styles that complement national teaching standards.
No decisions have been made regarding reducing or ending homework at other South Burlington elementary schools.