No Homework? Parents Can Check

Several times since the school year began, Kyle Parker has heard an all-too-familiar refrain:

“Guess what, Mom, I don’t have any homework tonight!”

Now, Parker and scores of other parents at Montgomery Middle School in El Cajon know better.

Thanks to a $1,900 investment in a high-tech, computer phone device, Parker can call up, punch in the code of her daughter’s teacher and find out whether Shannon, her seventh-grade girl, has homework or is, in fact, home free.

Parker heads up Montgomery’s Parents-Teachers Assn., which paid for the system. Comparable hookups are now available at schools in Irvine, Poway and at two in the San Diego Unified School District, according to Stephanie Troncone, Montgomery’s principal.

Troncone and Parker sing the system’s praises, even while admitting that some kids view it as the long, dark shadow of Big Brother from George Orwell’s “1984.”

“But 99% of the kids like to have their parents involved,” Parker said. “Most children really like it and don’t see any negatives at all. Maybe a few do, but, on the whole, it’s been a big success.”

Troncone got the idea after reading an article about the system in a national educational journal. The article reported that, after being used in a school in Detroit, the system accounted for a 50% improvement in homework being completed and on time.

Parker said the system works this way:

She calls the direct-dial number and hears the recorded voice of Principal Troncone, asking her to punch in the code of the teacher whose assignment she needs to get. She is then able to access the codes of three more teachers.

The system provides other functions. Parents are able to hear the date of the next report card, a list of every absence on a given day--a great way of checking up on truants, Troncone said--and a rundown of carnivals, bake sales, etc.

Troncone said the system can also phone parents and let them know of upcoming events. It can redial if the line is busy, or no one answers. Of course, when someone does answer, it’s only the principal’s recorded voice on the other end.

“Our goal is to get more information to parents,” Troncone said. “It provides a tool that allows parents to enhance a child’s chances at academic success, and, so far, it’s working terrifically well. Kids are responsible for writing down the homework they’re supposed to do, but, if they forget, or they choose not to do it, the parent can find out.”

And apply the appropriate measures.

Troncone said the system is valuable in aiding students who may have to miss school, for whatever reason. By calling in, she said, they can return without having missed a moment’s worth of homework.

Parker said Montgomery is made up of mostly middle-class parents, who helped pay for the system by having raffles and car washes and “just raising money wherever they could. It’s made everybody feel more involved.”

And more homework is getting done, she said, even if MTV has suffered a slight drop in ratings in El Cajon.