If you’ve been the parent of a young child, you know that children are curious and eager to learn. Their wide-eyed wonder as they discover spiders, rainbows, and other amazing things that most adults take for granted is one of the great joys of raising a family. To help you make the most of those moments and to inspire even more of them, we offer several easy strategies for sparking better conversation. There is a…
Read More »in LGBTQ+
Commemorated each year in the month of June, LGBTQ+ Pride Month honors the 1969 Stonewall uprising in New York City. In June of 1969, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn staged an uprising to resist the police harassment and persecution to which LGBTQ+ Americans were commonly subjected. This uprising marked the beginning of a movement to outlaw discriminatory laws and practices against LGBTQ+ Americans. Today, LGBTQ+ Pride Month celebrations include pride parades, picnics, parties,…
Read More »It is never too early to start practicing good money habits. In fact, the earlier teenagers are exposed to good financial habits, the better chance they will become financially savvy. This is an important life lesson in general, but especially if college is on the horizon for your teenager. Becoming a college student is one of the most exciting and immediate milestones for high school students. Teenagers feel a sense of freedom and it’s often…
Read More »Sueli Gwiazdowski, 24, says she switched high schools three times when she was growing up. She wanted to stay at her first school because she loved being on the speech and debate team – but the campus wasn’t wheelchair accessible. Her second school forced her to learn in a separate room, away from her non-disabled friends. “I had to fight my way out of that by going to a lot of…meetings and asserting that I…
Read More »in Art, Education, Music Education, News
In recent years, many school districts have had to make the difficult choice to eliminate art programs (drama, music, visual arts, photography, etc.) due to budget cuts and based upon state/national academic priorities that are more focused on math and English student achievement. The budget crisis came against the backdrop of the decade-long emphasis on math and reading as mandated by the federal No Child Left Behind law and other state initiatives and acts. For…
Read More »You can enjoy the water in many ways at Massachusetts state parks, beaches, and pools! Accessible beaches have boardwalks and beach mats to get you out onto the sand. Beach wheelchairs with balloon tires can move you across the sand, and floating beach wheelchairs get you into the water itself. Check out our list of accessible beaches and pools in Massachusetts below. After you find some accessible beaches you like, please check with that beach…
Read More »in Education, Mental Health, News
The Trump administration says it will stop paying out $1 billion in federal grants that school districts across the country have been using for student mental health funding, including to hire mental health professionals like counselors and social workers. The Department of Education is telling impacted districts that the Biden administration, in awarding the grants, violated “the letter or purpose of Federal civil rights law.” The grants were part of the 2022 Bipartisan Safer Communities…
Read More »The Trump administration says one of its primary goals in education is to expand school choice and put power back in the hands of parents. Yet it has killed the main way to track one of the most rapidly growing options – learning at home, or homeschool. The Education Department began counting the number of homeschooled children in 1999, when fewer than 2 percent of students were educated this way. Homeschooling rose by 50 percent…
Read More »in Events
There are many June activities for families to enjoy in the Boston area as we kick off the summer. Check out our list of June activities and events happening in the Boston area. ICA Playdate: Free Family Art Day, Free Sun, June 1, 2025 Take your family to the ICA for a full day of free activities at the ICA’s monthly Play Date, a recurring event on the last Saturday of each month inviting families to…
Read More »The U.S. Education Department’s role in helping students with disabilities may be changing soon. President Trump has said his administration is going to move “special needs” to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), an agency that recently announced its own drastic cuts. His administration hasn’t specified exactly which programs will be moved, and whether IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is among them. The conservative policy playbook Project 2025 does propose…
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