Do you remember summer vacation when you were young? Take a moment to think about how you spent your time. Did you play outside? Swim in the pool? Build forts in the woods? Hang out at the beach with your friends? Try out a job you loved (or hated)? Read classic novels, comic books or trashy pulp fiction? See movies that inspired you? Go camping with your family? These days, many kids spend the summer doing academic work, with math skills workbooks and reading lists designed

This month, GQ Magazine proclaimed Providence the “coolest city” in America. If you live here, this probably doesn’t surprise you. We’ve got awesome restaurants! Great institutions of higher learning (including an Ivy and one of the nation’s premier art schools)! Art installations like Waterfire! Free summer concerts! Dozens of beaches within a 45-minute drive! How often do you take advantage of all the things our city has to offer? How often do you take your children to the

Just off the Branch Avenue exit of route 146 in Providence, there is an outdoor classroom. On the banks of the Woonasquatucket River, preschoolers are building their language and pre-literacy proficiency, learning about the natural world and scientific observation, and acquiring the skills that will help them to be successful in life. Sharing space with the Wanskuck Clubhouse of the Boys & Girls Club of Providence and the Rhode Island School for the Deaf is a unique preschool

In education, we’re always looking for the magic bullet – that one thing that will help children to succeed, that will help eliminate the achievement gap once and for all. If we lengthen the school day, will that increase scores? If we provide our students with better-trained teachers, will they learn more? Will more or less recess time help students focus on academics? There are many things that have a positive effect on achievement: family income level, enriching early chil