Tenafly Parents Protest Homework Load & Are Joining A Nationwide Trend

The parents’ group, Rational Homework Review, says the heavy workload prevents their children from maintaining a healthy lifestyle

Zach Glass, 16,  takes six Advanced Placement courses at Tenafly  High School. He spends an average of three hours a night on homework and often spends weekends and vacations hunched over his books….

Pressured by parents, school district officials are considering lowering the stress of homework with such measures as homework-free nights and vacations, and giving students more information about the demands they will face in choosing courses..

The steps are  taken following  a group of high school parents who confronted the school board, arguing that homework is wreaking havoc on their children’s lives.

Tenafly is just the latest of many districts nationwide trying new approaches….other school districts statewide, including Ridgewood and Glen Rock, have reexamined homework policies or changed them in recent years to help balance students’ lives. 

At a recent school board meeting, Tenafly Superintendent Lynn Trager acknowledged that homework is only one of many factors adding to student stress and she hopes that an upcoming workshop for parents will help them learn how to alleviate it.

Amid the debate, Trager said it’s also hard to please everyone — that while the parent group is pushing for less stress, “other parents feel we don’t give enough homework … and that we shouldn’t reduce anything.”

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