Homework must be done on time.

The sixth grade homework policy is as follows:

The students will be issued one homework pass per academic class for the first three quarters of the year.  If a student forgets a homework assignment on the day that it is due, they may staple the pass to the completed homework assignment and submit it for full credit the following day. After the pass has been used, any late homework thereafter will be counted as a zero. If the student has been absent from school, please refer to the “Make Up Work” policy in the middle school student handbook.

Partial credit will be given at the teachers’ discretion for projects and large assignments.

Why such a strict policy?

The “zero tolerance” homework policy has been adopted by the entire middle school. Too much instructional time was being used by the management of late and missing work from chronically late students. Another reason is that most teachers use homework as a springboard for the next day’s lesson. Homework at Highland isn’t just busy work. Teachers give meaningful work that reinforces the concepts taught and use that work as discussion vehicles to enhance learning. Students need to be part of those discussions, whether their work is done or not. It is not fair to accept late work from students who sit through the discussion and benefit from hearing the answers.