Parents or guardians have a key role to play in assuring that their boys are completing their homework, preparing for tests (as applicable), and doing other work necessary to a boy’s academic growth and development. Parents should provide the appropriate structure and support and assure that a boy is completing these school obligations. The school reserves the right to meet with a parent or guardian of a boy not meeting such obligations to discuss this problem and insist upon parental action to help remedy it. Should a parent or guardian, in the school’s opinion, not be able or willing to provide the structure, support, and environment necessary for the boy to complete his school obligations, the school reserves the right to dismiss the boy from PDS.

While parents have a responsibility to assure that their sons are completing their homework, a parent should not actually do the homework for their sons. Among boys in grades old enough to understand the concept of cheating and the appropriate boundaries of parental assistance, those boys will be considered to have cheated if a parent or guardian does their homework for them. Teachers can provide guidance in each grade for what is an appropriate way for a parent to participate in homework assignments. Those guidelines will be different for boys in different grades, and different types of homework may involve parents in different ways.

In Senior Kindergarten, students have additional practice at home. Students should independently complete as much of the work as possible with a parent offering assistance only when absolutely necessary. Parents can help by providing a space to work that is free of distractions and equipped with materials such as pencils, crayons, markers, scissors and glue for completing assignments. Homework must be completed and turned in by the last school day of the week it is assigned.

In Grades 1–3, it may be necessary for parents to help guide and monitor the boys in an effort to help develop consistent study habits. Fourth, fifth, and sixth grade boys should be responsible for their own homework. Parents can communicate their trust and confidence in their children by offering encouragement and support; however, the parent’s role should be as a consultant or monitor, not a participant or doer. Sending positive messages, encouraging independence, and assigning responsibility will allow the boys to gain self-confidence and develop homework management skills.

The amount of time needed to do homework varies with the individual child and depends upon many factors such as ability to organize time and materials, willingness to focus on a task, and responsibility to plan and carry out a course of action.

Individual reading rates, degrees of perfectionism, use of class time, and levels of fatigue from lack of sleep or extra-curricular activities will also influence the amount of time spent on homework.