Four hundred students at Highland Park Elementary School here in Amarillo have received an early-in-the-school-year gift from their principal.

They won’t have homework this year, according to a letter sent to parents from Principal Vanette Barrett.

The letter mirrors an letter also sent out by a Fort Worth teacher, which I noted in an earlier blog post.

This is an interesting trend — perhaps you can call it that — in education.

It fascinates me greatly. I hope that this yearlong experiment that Barrett is conducting at her school works well for the students and teachers.

Barrett told the Amarillo Globe-News that studies have revealed that homework doesn’t necessarily improve students’ academic performance. She also told the newspaper she considered implementing the no-homework policy since the spring.

The letter that Barrett sent had gone viral earlier and it encourages parents to spend more time with their children and to make sure they get to bed early.

“It sounds so simple,” Barrett told the G-N, “but those things truly help the child more than sitting at home and doing a worksheet.”

Do you think?

Good luck with your experiment, Principal Barrett.