Policies

Homework Policy:  

Homework for All Students: 

There is no assigned and monitored homework in 4th grade.  That being said some students may have work or extra practice that will help support their learning in the classroom that can be completed at home.  This will be determined with parents and on an individual basis.  All students who want to do extra at home can use any of the computer programs to further their understanding of concepts.  Additionally, all students should be reading daily outside of school.

(Students expected to achieve or exceed 4th grade goals. Some students will have a modified goal but ALL students are expected to make at least a years worth of growth.)

• Read regularly (Daily)

• Reading Plus or Moby Max (2 times per week/~30 minute sessions or as needed to reach goal)

Goals by end of 4th grade:

• Students will have reading comprehension scores at 5th grade level or above.  (measured by Reading Plus  and/or Moby Max).    

• Students will meet their end of year goals on short cycle MAP assessments.

Students who would like to improve their grade or are below grade level:  (should do extra)

• Practice Reading & Comprehension skills on Reading Plus or Moby Max (an extra 1-2 times/per week/minimum of 20 minute sessions)

• Fix returned work to practice using feedback and making work better in the future

Absent Work Policy:

Students need to check with me when returning to class and ask what needs to be made up, ask questions, and practice a strong work ethic to catch up.  Keep in mind things like discussions, whole group/small group work can not be made up.  Students will just miss it and have to complete readings and independent work.  Please make attendance a priority.   

Missing/Late Work Policy:

If students do not turn work in on time, they can request one week to turn in missing/late work prior to the due date.  In the absence of this request, work will be graded at the time work was due.  After work is more than one week late, it will no longer be accepted unless student has come to me and made other arrangements prior.  All late work will be marked with a red "L" in powerschool but no points will be taken off.  If work is missing and pending submission, you will see a "M" in Powerschool for the assignment.   Keeping an eye on Powerschool will help you see if your student is keeping up with their work.  If they are falling behind, talk to your student before emailing me and ask them to come talk to me about making a plan for completion or discuss why they are having trouble with work completion.   If you need your log in password/username for Powerschool, the office will be able to help you.  

Extra Credit/Work Redo Policy:

I do not give extra credit.  Instead, I require students to do the work assigned on a regular basis.  Everything we do is important and I expect students to do their best on all work the first time.  Giving extra credit allows students to pull grades up by completing typically trivial/easy tasks in order to raise a grade quickly that has been lowered due to not being responsible or lack of effort.  Likewise, allowing students to redo work for a grade allows them to turn in work of poor quality the first time and requires me to grade twice as a result.  Since I already spend about 15 hours outside of the school day giving feedback to students and grading each week, I am not willing to increase this time already taken from my family.  Student grades need to be a true reflection of their effort and ability.   If grades and work ethics are important, every day matters not just the last two weeks before grades come out.