Education

Just like a fire drill, students and teachers routinely practice what to do if an armed intruder enters their school. Some students and teachers across the country are being told to fight back. And that’s happened in recent weeks, when two students — one in high school, and one in college — died lunging at gunmen.

The Hampshire College Library Lawn in Amherst was a busy place Saturday morning. By 10 a.m. most of the school’s 295 graduates were lined up just outside a large white tent, getting ready for the ceremony.

Now, hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio and his wife Barbara have announced their foundation will give $100 million to Connecticut schools, and the state has pledged to raise $200 million more over the next few years, specifically to help students at risk of dropping out of high school.

Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling didn’t mince words when describing the college admissions scam led by consultant William Singer, who pleaded guilty.

It’s something you might expect to see on a poster in a dorm. Bright green leaves, fanned and serrated. It’s cannabis. Except today, it’s center stage on a table in the biggest lecture hall on UConn’s campus. But first, it had to get there.

For many middle and high school students, the bar is set high for getting good grades, making the team, and landing the lead role in a play. Recognizing that, a library in western Massachusetts recently set the bar really low, offering a carefree event of making bad art.

Many of the photos in Pablo Delano’s exhibit at Hampshire College are more than 100 years old. They depict the island’s lush flora and fauna, and its people — as farmers, beauty queens, jail inmates — and in most cases, there’s some connection to the U.S. government.