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It's every schoolkid's dream come true: There's no more homework at a Maryland elementary school. The new assignment for students: Read a book of their choosing for 30 minutes per night, Fox 5 reports. After becoming principal two years ago, Stephanie Brant and her colleagues "really started evaluating the work that we sent students home with," and found it lacking, she says. "We were giving students something because we felt we had to give them something." The school district gave Brant the OK to try a no-homework policy.
Parents seem to support the idea. "When [my son] comes home, he has relaxing time. And I think kids need that relaxing time," says one. To facilitate kids' reading habits, students get to go to the library every day, instead of once a week, as at most schools. And the plan seems to be working fine: Fifth graders showed 72% proficiency in math and 81% in reading in the most recent state exams. That's noteworthy in a school district where 70% of the children don't speak English at home, and 82% qualify for subsidized lunches.
