Education
Colleges Fight Attempts To Stop Them From Withholding Transcripts Over Unpaid Bills
Alex Harris loves his job working with students on the autism spectrum — “my superheroes,” he calls them with a broad smile and a deep laugh — in Boston Public Schools. But the academic transcript Harris needs for a promotion and a raise is being kept from him by the private college he attended because…
Read MoreFor Some Rural Students, Taking More AP Courses Means More Online Learning
Skyleigh D’Ambrosia, 17, loves learning about science. She’s taken pretty much every science class available at her high school in the western Massachusetts town of Athol. “I want to be a doctor when I’m older,” she said. “So those are just kind of important classes.” D’Ambrosia wanted to take Advanced Placement (AP) chemistry and AP…
Read MoreIn Mass., Public Colleges Send Debt Collectors After Nearly 12,000 Students
Back when he was a sophomore at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, James Smith recalled he fell behind on his final housing payment after his family in Minnesota ran into financial problems. Smith said he promised to repay UMass, but the registrar withheld his transcript anyway. “It was sort of like communicating with a brick…
Read MoreMaine Camps Prepare To Welcome Kids Back This Summer With Renewed Focus On Social Skills
Last summer, Maine’s summer camp industry skidded to a halt because of the pandemic. Eighty percent of overnight camps in Maine suspended operations. But this summer, the vast majority will reopen. Operators will not only have to make adjustments for COVID-19 – they’ll also have to prepare for kids who are anxious or need a…
Read MoreIn Year Two Of Pandemic, Out-Of-State Students Boosting Enrollment At Maine Universities
Colleges and universities across the U.S. are still trying to regain their footing as the grip of the pandemic begins to ease. Enrollment fell across the country this past year, as students balked at the prospect of online classes and financial uncertainty. But early signs suggest that more students could be returning to campus this…
Read MoreInterrupted Schooling Meant A Pause In Discipline. For Some Students, That Was A Relief
Take away Will Brown’s commute to and from his home on the Dorchester-Mattapan line — and he gets time to think. “After a school day, I normally go for a walk and just listen to some tunes,” Brown says. “Just… refocus myself, you know?” Brown, a junior at Boston Arts Academy, is still learning entirely remotely. So in…
Read MoreKeeping COVID Tech Solutions Could Provide Better Access For Students With Visual Impairments
Before COVID, one of Michael Besson’s biggest challenges in Boston Latin School was class change. “My bag is pretty heavy and it took a lot of work to move around,” he explained. “Plus, hallways were crowded. I use a cane and that slows me down even more.” Michael is legally blind. “I can see, but…
Read MoreAfter A Year Mostly Indoors, Possibilities Bloom In A Schoolyard Garden
Most of the Sarah Greenwood School in Dorchester’s Grove Hall neighborhood is surrounded by cement, with four-square courts and some basketball hoops. The corner of its block is occupied by the crumbling facade of a former church — which occasionally sheds trash, even a knife and syringes, into the schoolyard. Then, in between the two, on…
Read MoreFor Anxious Students, Remote School Year Has Been A Bit Of Relief
Sixth-grader Harrison has a very simple routine each school week: Wake up, eat breakfast, get his mom to enable internet on his iPad, and log in to class. Getting dressed didn’t quite make the list. Harrison loves that he can go to school in his pajamas. But it’s more than just the relaxed dress code.…
Read More‘A Lot Of Road To Cover’: As Schools Close, Some Kids Face Longer Bus Rides
As Vermont’s school districts become larger and more centralized, some kids will feel the impact in how they get to and from school. Every weekday, kids around the state get on the school bus. Damien is one of them. “What the bus does is he goes by our house — ‘cause there’s more kids up…
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