Grades & Classroom Policies

San Miguel Homework Policy:

The Sunnyvale School District Board Policy (BP6154) specifies that "homework should contribute towards building responsibility, self-discipline and life-long learning habits." Assigning homework serves various educational needs. It serves as an intellectual discipline, establishes study habits, and supplements and reinforces work done in school. In addition, it fosters student initiative, independence, and responsibility and brings home and school closer together.

Homework assignments will be provided to students four days a week using the following suggested time:

  Kindergarten - 10 minutes or less

First grade - 10 minutes

Second grade - 20 minutes

Third grade - 30 minutes

Fourth grade - 40 minutes

Fifth grade - 50 minutes

In addition, all students are expected to read or be read to 20 minutes a day on average, seven days a week.

What Is Homework?

Homework is defined as out-of-class tasks assigned to students in support of classroom work. There are three types of homework: practice, preparation, and extension.

• Practice assignments reinforce newly acquired skills. For example, students who have just learned a new method of solving a mathematical problem should be given sample problems to complete on their own.
• Preparation assignments help students get ready for activities that will occur in the classroom. Students may, for example, be required to do background research on a topic to be discussed later in class.
• Extension assignments are frequently long-term continuing projects that parallel classwork. Students must apply previous learning to complete these assignments, which include science fair projects and term papers.

Why Is Homework Important?

Research in the last decade has begun to focus on the relationship between homework and student achievement and has greatly strengthened the case for homework. Although there are mixed findings about whether homework actually increases students' academic achievement, many teachers and parents agree that homework develops students' initiative and responsibility and fulfills the expectations of students, parents, and the public. Studies generally have found homework assignments to be most helpful if they are carefully planned by the teachers and have direct meaning to students.

Homework Concerns?

It is important to us that homework becomes a good habit and not a battle. Please keep your child's teacher informed if the work is taking longer than planned or other issues arise. Homework can be modified with the collaboration of you and your child's teacher.

We appreciate your support.

Standards Based Report Card:

The Standards Based Report Card (SBRC) is used in Kindergarten through 5th grade. The SBRC is based on the Content Standards published by the California Department of Education and provides specific feedback on your child's progress in each of the key content standards.

You and your child's teacher will be able to easily identify your child's areas of strength and weakness. This will aid the teacher in designing a curriculum that will meet the needs of your child, and will help you understand how you can support your child at home.

You will receive the first report card in November, during Parent/Teacher Conference week.

Teachers will use a set of benchmarks to determine student growth. The benchmarks indicate what your child must be able to do by the end of each trimester, in order to meet the standard at the end of the school year. These benchmarks will be available at each school site, if you wish to preview them.

Every student will have an evidence folder. This evidence folder will include samples of your child's work in each of the core subject areas that will serve as evidence of your child's progress. As the school year progresses, the teacher will use your child's work in the evidence folder to determine your child's level of proficiency in each standard.

In order to share your child's progress with you, your child's teacher will send graded schoolwork home, requesting that it be signed and returned. This is to allow you the opportunity to view schoolwork before it is placed in the evidence folder.

The traditional letter grades, used on previous report cards, will be replaced with a rubric that indicates your child's progression toward meeting standard. Instead of receiving letter grades, your child will receive a "1" if below grade-level standard, a "2" if approaching grade-level standard, a "3" if meeting grade-level standard, or a "4" if exceeding grade-level standard.

Report Card Schedule:

November 17-21 First Report Card issued

March 13 Second Report Card issued

June 17   Final Report Card issued

Parent/Teacher Conferences:

Parent conferences are held at the end of the First Trimester with the parents of all students.  Additional conferences may be scheduled as necessary and/or as requested by the parents or teachers.  The following are sample questions you may want to incorporate with your own ideas:

• Does my child participate in classroom activities?
• Does he/she show self-control in most situations?
• How does my child get along with other children?
• Can my child handle the learning environment?
• Does he/she seem to enjoy the learning classroom routine?
• What specific learning materials have been presented to my child?
• What materials does my child choose to work with more frequently?
• Can my child express his or her needs and thoughts?
• Does my child seem happy in class?