Adults and children of all abilities can have fun in Massachusetts this summer. In addition to having a number of special needs events scheduled, Massachusetts also has accessible spray pools, beaches and parks with ramps, wheelchairs that navigate sand and/or can float in the water, adaptive activities, and much more. Check out this list of fun summer events, adaptive activities, and resources that are accessible and include everyone! 1. Massachusetts Accessible Pools & Spray Decks.…
A 2022 national survey of nearly 34,000 LGBTQ+ youth, ages 13-24, paints a clear, distressing picture of the trauma endured by LGBTQ+ students in America. Nearly three-quarters reported symptoms of anxiety, 58 percent reported symptoms of depression, and 45 percent said they had seriously considered committing suicide within the past year. However, the survey also shows that educators can make a very big difference. High school and college-aged LGBTQ+ youth who found their schools and…
Summertime in Boston means it’s time splash in spray parks! There’s plenty of free water fun to be had all around the city, and we’ve rounded up some of the best spots. Frog Pond, Boston Common—Beacon Hill From the opening day festivities in late June through Labor Day weekend, children ages 12 and under can cool off in the Frog Pond Spray Pool, open daily at 11 a.m. Rose Kennedy Greenway — Chinatown Parks, Wharf District Parks,…
There are many fun activities for families to enjoy in the Boston area in the month of June. Check out our list of June activities and events happening in the Boston area and have a great start to your summer! Zootopia at Franklin Park Zoo When: Saturday, June 1, 2024 6:30 pm – 10:00 pm Where: 1 Franklin Park Rd, Boston, MA, 02121 Age: kids, teens, adults Cost: see website Join Zoo New England for…
Although e-cigarettes have been around for more than a decade, vaping rates have skyrocketed in recent years, especially among teens. E-cigarettes are now the most frequently used tobacco product among adolescents — some 2.1 million middle and high school students were e-cigarette users in 2017 — far surpassing traditional combustible cigarettes. Vaping has gotten much more popular among teenagers in the past few years. Teens often vape because vapes come in fun flavors, have sleek…
On a Tuesday evening in 2019, about 80 parents and students gathered in Archer High School in Lawrenceville, Georgia. They were there for a night of post-secondary education planning. They reviewed statistics, heard school counselor recommendations, and spoke with college representatives. It’s a common enough scene–many high schools host college and career nights to help students and parents plan for the future, but this one had a twist: it was designed specifically for special education…
In the United States today, more than 23 million children live in a single parent family. This total, has risen over the last half century and currently covers about one in every three kids across America. A number of long-term demographic trends have fueled this increase, including: marrying later, declining marriage rates, increasing divorce rates and an uptick in babies born to single mothers. Within single-parent families, most children — 14.3 million — live in…
Mathematics is created by humans; math teachers are humans, and math students are humans. And yet many contemporary math classrooms erase humans from the equation. “Often mathematics is talked about as if it were apolitical, objective, and cold. A sterile textbook, a teacher writing on a chalkboard and rarely turning around,” said Sam Shah, a high school math teacher in Brooklyn, New York. For many students, that model of math class is unengaging or anxiety-provoking.…
For a few weeks in the spring of 2016, nearly all the eighth grade students at a small public school affiliated with Columbia University agreed to stay late after school to study math. They were preparing for a critical test, the New York State’s Regents examination in algebra. Half of the kids came from families that lived below the poverty line in Harlem and upper Manhattan. They attended a selective middle school and were advanced…
While active shooter drills have become common practice across much of the country, some experts and parents worry they may do more harm than good, particularly if they involve simulation. One of those critics is Dr. David Schonfeld, director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles. He spoke to NPR’s Steve Inskeep about how high-intensity drills can harm students’ mental health, and shared what alternatives he would…
