What's Happening in Levittown, NY…

Officials at a school near Levittown just made every student's dream come true.

Students at Long Beach Elementary School were given a letter to take home to their parents during one of the last weeks of the 2017-2018 school. The letter informed parents that starting with the upcoming academic year, elementary school students would no longer receive homework.

In place of nightly assignments, students will be encouraged to spend their weekday evenings doing ‘Wonder, Read and Play’ or ‘WRaP’.

Schools that are implementing substantial changes to the way students are taught, and to their policies can use printing services to send letters home to parents.

In the letter from Long Beach, Dr. Jennifer Gallagher, the district's superintendent, noted that there is ample research that suggests that giving elementary students homework does not help them very much. Activities such as reading each night tend to provide greater benefits to younger students.

The superintendent was quick to note that the elimination of homework was not meant to give students an excuse to watch more TV or to play video games for longer. Instead, she hopes that students will spend more of their time out of school reading, either with their parents or on their own.

Additionally, parents are encouraged to help their children become more curious about the world around them. Dr. Gallagher instructed parents to ask their kids what they have wondered about that day, then spend time together finding the answers.