Newfoundland and Labrador school board ends ‘no-zero’ policy for assignments

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A Newfoundland and Labrador school district is doing away with a policy forbidding zeros on assignments.

The province’s English School District says while well-intended, the so-called “no zero” policy was having unintended consequences.

School district CEO Tony Stack says many assignments were piling up and it making it increasingly difficult for some students to succeed.

The district says it is implementing a new policy to ensure that students pass in their assignments in a timely manner, while still making allowances for extraordinary circumstances.

Stack says the new policy was put together with input from parents and teachers.

An Edmonton school board similarly reversed its no-zero policy after a legal battle over a teacher fired for ignoring the policy. Lynden Dorval was ordered reinstated but has since retired.

(VOCM)