CASP Homework Block

Director Torri Canada knows how important homework can be to a student’s success. In CASP the goal is to provide a quality homework block that puts students in a position to succeed. CASP kids receive support daily from our CASP staff, as well as the resources to work independently on their homework. With the help of lead teachers and the City Year Corp Members, students can complete homework in a timely manner with ease.

What’s New?

The first major addition this year is to focus on connecting homeroom teachers with the after school program. Mr. Petmezis, a current 3rd grade educator at the Curley, is communicating with teachers in grades 3 through 5 to help the program best support each child. He is gathering data, monitoring adult to student ratios, providing academic strategies for CASP staff, and checking with homeroom teachers for homework completion. Having a veteran teacher on staff allows the after school program to identify and support the students that will benefit from additional academic support. Homeroom teachers are excited to have a proactive point person that knows the school and students well.

“We want to help every child succeed in a timely manner.” said Mr. Petmezis in an email. “A focused homework block means more time for enrichment and more fun for kids!”

Students are offered activities and programs starting at 3:30 each day. If they need additional time to complete homework or reading, they are encouraged to do so before beginning enrichment.

Our Homework Guide Policy

Here at CASP we take pride in the help and support we give to our students with their homework. CASP does not do the homework for its students, nor does the staff give answers to the students. We serve as guides to help the students complete their homework assignments.

Wrong answers are alright. Wrong answers help the students’ teacher know what they need to work on or review with their students. This also extends to misspelled words and concepts.

Understanding. Our goal is to help students understand difficult to learn concepts. This does sometimes mean a student may not finish their homework while at CASP, but an understanding of the overall theme of the concept from the homework was reached or strived for. This means that the student should have a much simpler time completing their assignments.

Consistency. ‘While wrong answers are alright, we look for a consistency in the wrong or right answers. The help is tailored to the consistency of the student’s answers.

Personal Attention. We try to give individual attention to the students who seem to struggle more and may not be able to answer some or all of the homework problems. This means personally working with them to help them try to understand the concept their teacher is trying to emphasize or get across.

The Future

Ms. Canada is proud of her program’s success, but is always looking for new ways to help the students and program grow. She believes CASP can do even more to support students in homework and academics. “I am currently in the process of bringing in additional tutors from Northeastern University.” she explained to her staff this week. In addition, she has partnered with programs to help build self-confidence and to encourage interest in science and technology.

Meet Our Homework Team

Director Torri Canada is loving her 6th year as leader and founder of the Curley After School Program. She wants to thank Principal Grassa and the Administration team, and teachers and families of the Curley for their continued support. Mr. Petmezis, Curley teacher, oversees the success of homework for the 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders during after school. Ms. Craman, Curley teacher, oversees the success of homework for the 1st, and 2nd graders during after school. Lead teachers during after school, Ms. Pina and Ms. Brown, Mr. Downie, Mr. Guerrero, and Ms. Butler, and our City Corp members are instrumental and passionate about students homework completion each day. City Year participates in trainings to support students academically. In addition, City Year can check in with CASP staff for specific strategies.

We provide new, interesting books at a variety of levels for each grade. Students can now complete their reading and logs during the homework block.