Parenting

State vaccination site now lets parents book shots for their younger kids

By adamg - 11/4/21 - 1:22 pm

Appointments for children between 5 and 11 are now available on the Massachusetts Covid-19 vaccination finder.

Covid-19 outbreak at Jamaica Plain school

By adamg - 11/3/21 - 9:37 pm

WBUR reports on the outbreak at the Manning Elementary School on Louders Lane.

Student at Dorchester school punched principal into unconsciousness, police say; school will be shut tomorrow

By adamg - 11/3/21 - 8:49 pm

The principal of the Henderson K-12 Inclusion School was transported to a local hospital in an ambulance this afternoon after being punched in the head as school let out at the upper campus, 18 Croftland Ave. in Dorchester. Read more.

An unwanted item in a Halloween goodie bag in Jamaica Plain

By adamg - 11/1/21 - 9:43 am

Don't be scared of goblins, the tract tells kids: Admit you're a sinner and Jesus will save you.

A Jamaica Plain tradition is the Halloween parade along Centre Street, where kids in costumes patrol as local businesses and residents hand out treats. Yesterday, one parent reports, she was a bit miffed when her daughter showed her one goodie bag that had a come-to-Jesus pamphlet stuffed in it as well, down near Mozart Street. Read more.

Massachusetts extends school mask mandate to Jan. 15

By adamg - 10/26/21 - 2:08 pm

WBZ reports.

BPS widens investigation at Mission Hill School; outside law firm brought in

By adamg - 10/20/21 - 9:32 am

BPS has hired an outside law firm for a "top-to-bottom investigation" of the school and the way its students are treated, School Superintendent Brenda Cassellius told parents in a recent letter. Read more.

Shortage of youth-hockey refs blamed on parents who need to get a frickin' grip

By adamg - 10/6/21 - 12:03 pm

Mass Hockey, which oversees youth-hockey programs in the state, reports refs are quitting rather than putting up with nonsense from parents who seem to have forgotten we're talking about their children here, not NHL players: Read more.

Judge once more upholds exam-school entrance process for current school year, discusses racism as societal syphilis

By adamg - 10/1/21 - 11:57 pm

Yes, three Boston School Committee members got all racist. And, yes, city attorneys screwed up in trying to withhold evidence of racially-tinged texts by two of them from a parents group suing over the way kids got invited to the exam schools this year. But no, the plan used to invite students without exams was not racist, a federal judge ruled today - again. Read more.

Mission Hill School parents irate at being left in dark as BPS removes two teachers

By adamg - 9/22/21 - 1:20 pm

At a school already roiling over the way its two co-leaders were put on leave just before the start of the school year, parents at the Mission Hill K-8 School in Jamaica Plain now have to wonder why BPS removed two grade 5 and 6 teachers one recent Friday afternoon. Read more.

Baker calls out National Guard to drive school vans

By adamg - 9/13/21 - 3:09 pm

Gov. Baker today activated the National Guard to get ready to drive school vans in cities that have been hard hit by driver shortages: Chelsea, Lynn, Lawrence and Lowell. Some 90 National Guard members will start training in driving the vans tomorrow.

BPS says first day of busing went OK, although it allows some kids got to school more than 30 minutes late

By adamg - 9/9/21 - 2:56 pm

In a statement, BPS says 57% of students who take school buses got to school on time today, despite a widely publicized shortage of drivers, up from 43% in the last normal start to the school year in 2019. Some 85% of bused kids arrived within 15 minutes of the start of their school days and 96% made it within 30 minutes. Read more.

Coyote bites toddler in the back, drags her by the leg in Arlington; minutes later another young child is attacked nearby

By adamg - 9/6/21 - 1:15 pm

Arlington Police report two children were attacked by a coyote yesterday afternoon in Arlington: A two-year-old girl on Epping Street was bitten in the back and then briefly dragged by a coyote, then ten minutes later, another two-year old girl on Summer Hill Circle, about a half mile away, was scratched by a coyote. Read more.

Next week might be the opposite of fun for BPS parents whose kids are supposed to take a school bus

By adamg - 9/3/21 - 11:17 am

WBZ reports BPS is currently short a "significant" number of school-bus drivers for the school year that starts on Tuesday. Also, only about a quarter of parents have given their consent to have their children tested for Covid-19 each week.

Report says Mission Hill School leaders ignored bullying of one student for years

By adamg - 9/1/21 - 9:31 am

CommonWealth Magazine reports what led to BPS putting the co-leaders of the Mission Hill K-8 School on leave recently: An outside lawyer's report that the school deliberately ignored multiple complaints, over several years, from the parents of a gender non-conforming child, about repeated bullying. Read more.

Boston will pay $650,000 to parents who say their children were sexually attacked by a student at a JP school now under investigation for possible student mistreatment

By adamg - 8/25/21 - 3:43 pm

Update: The ages of the alleged attacker and the two girls has been added to the story.

Attorneys representing two parents whose daughters once attended the Mission Hill K-8 School in Jamaica Plain last month reached agreement with BPS attorneys on a $650,000 settlement of their lawsuit, which alleges that not only did the school's principal do nothing to stop one young student from sexually attacking other students, she fired a teacher who disobeyed her order not to file a report with the state Department of Children and Families. Read more.

Archdiocese of Boston to require masks in its schools next month

By adamg - 8/25/21 - 1:39 pm

The Pilot reports that the archdiocese will follow the state's "universal indoor masking" policies for the 69 schools under its control when the schools re-open next month. Read more.

State to order masks for school kids, staffers through at least Oct. 1

By adamg - 8/24/21 - 10:39 am

The Herald reports the state education board gave Commissioner Jeff Riley the power to required indoor mask use at all Massachusetts schools - for both students and staff - through Oct. 1, after which schools would be able to lift the requirement if they can prove at least 80% of students and staff have gotten shots.

The vote came despite the presence of a small but noisy group of right-wing anti-vaxxers.