Our son is in first grade at Great Hearts - Monte Vista South. He has about 30 minutes of homework every night. They only get 30 minutes of play during the day and it seems a lot for him to have another 30 minutes when he comes home. If they don't do the homework at night they have to do it during recess.

Does anyone know Northwoodk's policy on homework for 1st graders?

My hunch is that they don't have a "homework policy" that covers the entire first grade, but I'd have a hard time thinking there is a ton for kids to do after school. I don't recall my kids having a mandatory amount when they went to Northwood, but that was several years ago. The Principal at NWood is Mrs. Harper. Call the school and they should be able to put you in touch with her or someone who you can talk to about it.

Also, NEISD just updated their recess policy to add more time during the day. Not sure if it's implemented everywhere yet though.

I know you asked about Northwood, but Woodridge down the road had no homework in elementary except to read. My kids did not have homework until AH Junior school and then it was just project completion. Not daily homework like math problems etc.

St. Pius, right down the street from Northwood, had minimal homework in 1st grade. Mainly it was reading 10-20 minutes with or without parent. Maybe practice weekly vocabulary words and occasional simple math.

Kids are now in 5th and 6th grade at SPX. They have 30+ minutes of homework a night. Read a book and do report each month. Team projects, etc. It's a lot plus they both play sports.

At Cambridge there's typically a few pages in a packet to complete for each week and then some apps that track reading vocabulary. This is all the Spanish immersion program so it may differ a little from standard but from some of our friends at Woodbridge and Cambridge is seems about the same. TBH our kids could knock out the packet in one day when they really tried between sports and such.

Ags, I can't thank you enough for your feedback. We're looking at various options and your information has been very helpful.

Happy to help, we love AHISD. I will say if your kiddo is coming home a lot with work not finished at school it is worth looking into whether they are struggling completing tasks in class for one reason or another. Determine if your kiddo is struggling with completing work in time, as opposed to items assigned specifically as homework.

So you moved to a neighborhood and put your son in a challenging private school and now complain that's challenging? I get it because homework sucked at a private level for my kids but what did you think? We spent a lot of time after work and school doing school work and it wasn't always worth it. Both mine are in public now. Still have homework

It's not a private school, it's a charter school. We're not the only parents that think the hw is over the top. Actually the vast majority think it's a little too much. We may enroll him in Buckner Fanning for the spring and my wife is visting Northwood this week. They don't have homework until 2nd grade. B Fanning has homework but it works out to about 40 miinutes a week.

My other kids all went to one of the top private schools in TN. They didn't have homework until 3rd grade. All graduated with honors and earned full or partial academic scholarships.

Before moving, I would tell you that Great Hearts has an excellent reputation. In the area that you are in it is competing with St. Anthony's but also SA Academy and SMH. The Academy and SMH both start with 15 minutes of reading a night at that age. There is the occasional project or worksheet.

Halconblack said:

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Before moving, I would tell you that Great Hearts has an excellent reputation. In the area that you are in it is competing with St. Anthony's but also SA Academy and SMH. The Academy and SMH both start with 15 minutes of reading a night at that age. There is the occasional project or worksheet.

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Yeah, I agree. My wife is more irritated than I am but a lot of parents think the amount of homework is over the top. He had almost an hour of homework last night. We'll probably keep him where he is. His friends go there and we've become friends with those parents as well.

All of my children go to Great Hearts Northern Oaks. All currently in the lower school. It has been a wonderful experience and we love the school so far.

They have homework everyday beginning in Kinder. However, 30 minutes is the absolute maximum I've experienced in over 5 years. It's typically ~15 minutes for spelling, spalding, rocket math, or a worksheet. It shouldn't be taking them 30 minutes every day to complete their homework. Also, it may take the younger ones a little longer if they struggle with reading/writing. My 4th grader rarely has more than 10 minutes and half the time he does it in the car on the ride home. Someone will fill your spot in seconds so choose wisely.

Thanks for your feedback. Northern Oaks has great reviews like the South campus where my son is currently going. You're correct about someone taking his spot, there is a waiting list. He has a minimum of 20 minutes of reading every night. We have looked around and have meetings with San Antonio Academy, Buckner Fanning and Northwood week after next. SA Academy is pretty darn expensive, but we're really impressed with the school. Since it ends at 8th, we'd have to find another option for high school. But who knows where will be in 7+ more years. We have land in Boerne, so perhaps Geneva would be an option.