Stories
Brandon Rodriguez, a high school senior in Connecticut, is getting ready for his fourth-period Black and Latino history class. Rodriguez says he signed up for the course to learn more about his ancestry. “My parents were born in Ecuador, but I was born here,” Rodriguez said. “But it’s nice to learn a little bit more…
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In an office at Burlington High School, just off Lake Champlain in northern Vermont, Chacha Ngunga made a phone call. “Jambo jambo,” he said, greeting a student’s father in their shared language, Swahili. Ngunga is a multilingual liaison — one of 12 employed by the Burlington district. A few feet away, Noor Bulle, another liaison,…
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Educators across Maine expected an adjustment when students returned to school full time this year, with unfamiliar routines and the enduring pandemic. But now, they’re grappling with a rise in behavior challenges, which come as studies show depression and anxiety have doubled for children and teens since before the pandemic. This week, three leading pediatric health organizations warned that…
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In western Massachusetts, the cost and availability of child care can be a major barrier to employment for some parents. During the pandemic, it has become an even bigger problem, in part because day care providers themselves are having a harder time recruiting employees. Standing in a circle, preschoolers at the Mt Carmel Early Education…
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On a recent weekday, Jaime Carillo and his son waited for the ride to school in their usual spot on the front porch of the family’s duplex. When classes first started, the two were spending a lot of time there; the van that takes his son to school was coming much later than its 7:28 a.m.…
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Cedric Turner was 16 years old when bell bottoms were polyester and “The Bump” filled radio airwaves, moving young people to knock their hips together to the beat. It was the dawn of the disco era, with colored lights flashing in nightclubs as music blasted away. A street-wise kid from Mattapan, Turner was Black, six-foot-two…
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As Maine schools enter their third pandemic-affected year, they have a new tool that officials are hoping will lead to fewer interruptions. It’s called “pooled testing” and is designed to identify COVID-19 cases early, and keep more students in the classroom. But in some districts, a shortage of labor and supplies has already challenged…
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Juggling a full load of courses as a biology professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, Ryan Rogers reached her breaking point when administrators required her to teach laboratory courses in-person during the pandemic. “My mental health was trash,” Rogers said. “I felt it declining day by day. I did not sleep very much.…
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As the new school year begins and students head back to the classroom, some immunocompromised families feel left behind. That’s because many districts across Connecticut aren’t offering a remote learning option, and for many families, returning to the classroom is like choosing between their education and their health. Ten-year-old Lane Mayville is used to tearing…
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At a fairground in North Haverhill, N.H., past the rides and an obstacle course set up for goats, Amy Brooks was recruiting. She stood at a booth not far from a gun raffle and a fudge stand, hawking an industry she says is a little different than retail. “Small humans are amazing, and it’s not…
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