Teachers at West Ridge Elementary assign homework for the purpose of promoting student growth.  There are two primary ways this is accomplished.  First, teachers assign nightly or weekly independent reading to increase the amount of time students spend reading at their level. Research shows that increasing a student’s reading volume will improve reading skill.  Second, teachers assign nightly to weekly skills practice in varying content areas. These assignments do not involve students in learning new content or skills on their own.  Research shows that practice of skills that students have learned and can manage independently will lead to stronger skills mastery.  Students at West Ridge can expect to have anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes of nightly homework between independent reading expectations and independent skills practice.  Additionally, at times teachers may assign homework that is intended to prepare students for upcoming classroom learning by increasing their background knowledge.  All three types of homework in total will not exceed 20-60 minutes nightly in order to allow children opportunities for active play, outside hobbies and family time.  If your child’s homework is typically taking longer than 20-60 minutes in total, please feel free to problem solve this with his or her teacher.