October 2018

Not many 14-year-olds have given speeches across the country for national audiences. Not many teens have had conversations with prominent leaders like Former President Barack Obama and Reverend Al Sharpton. Or created a company that inspires young people to dream big. Or taught business and public speaking to adult learners.…

When LeBron James opened the I Promise School in Akron, Ohio, at the start of this school year, the optimism was off the charts. Here in Richmond, Johnny Harris can relate to the euphoria of starting a school from scratch, even though he lacked the resources and massive media attention that the basketball…

Lynn Reed and her daughter Hana Reed Voight share more than just a family tie. They share a passion for learning. That’s why each ultimately chose teaching as a career. Keeping it in the family, they both teach at Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School – Lynn in math (calculus and…

Few words conjure up as many feelings of dread and doom as the word homework does for school-aged children. Many view homework as a daunting task that keeps them from playing outside, hanging out with friends, or watching Netflix. Tales of miserable homework experiences are as timeless as scraped knees…

So here I am again, standing at the end of the walk with the flashlight in my hand. Up at the front door, past the jack o’ lanterns on the stoop, the monsters, superheroes, and fairy princesses crowd around the huge bowl of candy held out by the lady of…

We’re marking our 9-year anniversary with a whopper of an issue, dedicated to all things education! And whether you have kids in school or not, I guarantee you’ll find something among these 100 pages to entertain, inform, and enlighten you (that was part of our original mission statement, way back…

It was September 1965. Three male college students went to register for classes in Richmond, only to be denied. The administration informed them that in order to register, they needed to cut their long hair and shave their beards. Not so easily intimidated, the students hired a lawyer, who sought…

How to meet baby’s health needs – what parents need to know about vitamin D and iron. There is so much to consider as a new parent. For many of us, thinking about vitamin D for our newborns may not even make the list, but providing vitamin D is a…

A few years ago, a video Snap was made public where white students from an area middle school held down African American students in sexually explicit positions while making racist remarks. Naturally, parents were appalled. Social media responses like “This is not who we are” and “I can’t believe this…

By now, we are settling back into the groove of the school routine. In the midst of adjusting to all the changes a new school year brings, have you noticed any changes at your children’s schools related to their safety? School safety is a topic on which our state policymakers…

Picture the home of a Richmond-area family. In it, a couple decides they want to start saving for their child’s college costs. They search online, “What’s the best way to save for college?” The search engine returns 333,000,000 results. The parents ask their broker, and the broker starts talking to…

We send our kids off to school with great intentions, but most of us can attest to the fact that homework can get out of control fast. School supplies scattered all over the house, lost papers, late assignments, the poster board shopping run at ten o’clock. If you dread such…

Science is all around us! Kids can explore a common concept with a fun Halloween angle using this experiment. What you need: • Tissue paper • Balloon • Markers • Scissors • Tape • Sweater or fabric What you do: 1. Cut your tissue paper into the shape of a…

In 2015, approximately 4.6 million students pursued studies in a country other than the one in which they were born, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (oecd.org). That’s up significantly from 2.1 million students studying abroad in 2001. Many of these students chose to study at U.S.…

My 9-year-old daughter has told me there is a little boy in her class who is getting picked on because of the kind of shoes he is wearing. It’s quiet and mean, and this boy is not responding, so the teacher doesn’t know about it. My child comes home every…

My dog Darby looks fantastic in a Halloween costume. For pet owners like me, it’s one of the fun things about the holiday. But as an emergency veterinarian, I have to admit that I also think of all the things that can go wrong for our dogs and cats during…

Imagine living just a mile from the James River, but never visiting any of the access points that line its banks – or even knowing that the river exists. Many of the children from Richmond’s East End neighborhoods – an area with a poverty rate three times higher than the…

The holiday season – from Halloween through New Year’s – can serve up a bellyful of digestive distress for people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Holiday stress combined with high-fat and high-carb seasonal treats can worsen IBS symptoms. Most people with IBS have strong colon contractions, leading to uncomfortable symptoms…

Table manners matter at the family table, and we hope our children use those same good manners at the school lunch table with their classmates. It’s our duty as parents to teach our children to be food curious, to try new things, and to not pass judgment when another child…