All Schoolwork but No Homework

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Preserving that time is one reason Annie's parents, who both work outside the home, were drawn to Beacon. Annie plays recreational soccer, does art projects with Mom using polymer clays (a favorite hobby), helps cook dinner, does laundry, cleans up after her hamster and still gets to bed by 8:30. "The kids aren't rushed all the time," says Annie's dad Peter. "Many of our friends have to force their kids to do the two hours of homework each night, the kids hate the parents, and the parents end up hating the school."

But aren't those kids better prepared for the discipline of high school and college? Farley says that's a myth. "Homework usually brings major family interference, there's downloading of book reports from the Internet, there's Daddy doing the science experiment. Who's getting discipline? I think it's the parents." It helps her case that Farley can point to Beacon's students' standardized-test scores, which rank among the best in the state.

--By Andrew Goldstein