Parents of children under 5 could be able to get their youngest family members vaccinated as soon as next week after the Food and Drug Administration authorized the vaccines by Modern and Pfizer on Friday. COVID vaccines for kids under 5 are slowly rolling out around the US as of June 21, 2022. Children under 5 are the last age group to become eligible for COVID vaccines. While only 3% of U.S. COVID cases were…
Read More »A wave of disappointment and anger is spreading across New York City school communities, touched off by Mayor Eric Adams’ recently announced budget cuts. Parents fear they’ll see programs discontinued in the fall, and teachers are worried about their jobs. While the cuts are tied to K-12 declining enrollment —which has dropped by 9.5% since the beginning of the pandemic — many parents, educators, and politicians believe they will hurt students as they continue grappling…
Read More »An influential panel of experts says all kids ages 8 to 18 should be screened for anxiety on a regular basis. This draft recommendation by the United States Preventative Task Force comes at a time when mental health problems among kids have escalated and are overwhelming the health system. The task force also recommends that kids 12 and older continue to be screened for depression, a recommendation that’s been in place since 2016. The screenings…
Read More »Perhaps the only respite pandemic closures brought to to families was freedom from the constant misery of summer colds, complete with all the dripping noses, sneezes, and coughs. And statistics suggest we weren’t the only ones who had fewer colds last year: with daycares and in-person schools closed and widespread use of masks and hand sanitizer in most communities, cases of many seasonal respiratory infections went down, and flu cases dropped off a cliff. That…
Read More »In any given community, the public library is one of the most important buildings. The library plays many roles, providing space, resources, and programming, with its doors open to all. In certain cities across the U.S., about three dozen libraries and systems currently have a social worker on staff. This number is growing as communities report the positive effects of having on-staff social workers. Libraries can often be a safe place for children and adults…
Read More »The relationship between parent and child is central to building children’s self-motivation and stress tolerance, and how parents respond to kids when they are emotionally distressed can strengthen or strain that relationship. After the release of his bestselling book “The Self-Driven Child,” clinical neuropsychologist William Stixrud got a request: make it even easier for parents to apply the research in the book to motivate teens. So Stixrud and his co-author Ned Johnson wrote “What Do…
Read More »Reading is the way some find joy and spend the day unwinding—curling up with a favorite novel, poring over current news, or reading the latest trend in various topics. But for some, reading is a chore, another dreadful assignment to complete, and an anxiety-ridden task particularly when it involves reading in front of others. Reading instruction plays a central role throughout K-12 education, and much time and resources are allocated with the goal of ensuring…
Read More »Worried that your children will forget everything they learned over the course of the summer months? You may have more reason than you think. Long summer vacations can break the rhythm of instruction, lead to forgetting, and require a significant amount of review when students return to school in the fall. Students’ overall achievement test scores can drop after one month, on average, over summer vacation. Skills in mathematics and spelling usually take the biggest…
Read More »It’s essential for students to like and be a good fit for the school they attend. No matter where students find themselves in their college journeys, they may need help navigating the search and application process to ensure students end up at an institution where they can truly thrive. Nearly a quarter of American college students who start at one four-year institution will transfer to a different one to finish their degree. So, if you’re…
Read More »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, and much more. Check out this list of fun summer special needs events and and resources that are accessible and include everyone! 1. Massachusetts Accessible Pools & Spray Decks. All…
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