Stories
Back in April, Marcos Gabriel Valentin-Ortiz wanted to get a sense of what Hartford, Conn., looked like. “In Puerto Rico, I didn’t see many opportunities and possibilities to progress,” Valentin-Ortiz said. “After eight years with the same salary, I was beginning to feel a little bit frustrated.” After an offer to more than triple his salary,…
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As she walked through the hallways of Balliet Pre-school, in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Thursday, Principal Jessica McCloskey visited several classrooms to greet students. “We are so excited to get the school year started in this wonderful space,” said McCloskey, referring to the former elementary school on Seymour Avenue , which now serves as a preschool…
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On especially hot days, the temperature in 11-year old Chase Bressette’s second-floor classroom at Pelham Elementary School climbs above 80 degrees. He and his classmates guzzle water and gather in front of a standing fan. His teacher draws the window shades and turns off the lights to cool down the room. But still, Chase says…
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When the pandemic upended schools two years ago, the federal government took the step of providing universal school meal waivers nationwide, in effect making meals free for every child. This fall, those waivers are ending. But a few states, including Maine, have decided to continue providing free meals to every public school student. Local officials…
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Boston boasts a large network of city-run and nonprofit programs dedicated to connecting young people with enriching summer jobs. These positions in government, health care, business and the private sector are seen as a way to foster career skills development and offer mentorship to area teens. But this summer, there’s a problem — those connections…
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Mackenzie Verdiner goes to one of the most diverse schools in New Hampshire, Manchester’s West High School. Students there speak about 50 different languages. “If I grab a fistful of kids randomly, it would be a different color on each finger — it’s all different colors, different backgrounds,” she says. “And then all the teachers…
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At Williams College in western Massachusetts, first-year student Daniela Corona walked backwards quickly, glancing over her shoulder so as not to trip as she guided a campus tour for interested students and their families. The daughter of Mexican immigrants, Corona is the first in her family to go to college–“quite the jump,” she calls it.…
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File this story under political thriller. The scene is a little free library, one of those community bookshelves that sprout up in yards, encouraging passersby to take or leave a book. Krysta Petrie and Katie Cohen host one on Trapelo Road in Waltham, Mass., dubbed the Little Queer Library, which offers mostly books featuring LGBTQ…
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On a recent February morning, Eliza, a senior at Amherst Regional High School in Amherst, Massachusetts, walked down the school hallway. Accompanied by a school social worker, Eliza chatted about some of her favorite books and TV shows, and when she passed a teacher she hadn’t seen in several weeks, she got excited. There was…
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Prior to leaving Puerto Rico for Connecticut, Adriana Beltran-Rodriguez didn’t know anyone who had visited the state. “I saw that Hartford Public Schools had a recruitment program, and they were coming to Puerto Rico to do interviews,” said Beltran-Rodriguez. “I went and they liked me and I thought, ‘Now I know three people in Connecticut!’”…
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