Latest news with #25Investigates
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
25 Investigates: New poll suggests Mass. parents more worried about student academics
Parents are increasingly worried about their children's student achievement in school. That's according to a new poll from EdTrust in Massachusetts and MassINC Polling Group shared with 25 Investigates. The statewide survey went out to 1,126 parents of Massachusetts students enrolled in grades K-12, oversampling Black, Latino and Asian parents. 'We have seen elevated rates of chronic absenteeism, and we know students continue to face ongoing struggles with mental health,' says Jennie Williamson, the state director of the EdTrust in Massachusetts. There are also academic struggles as 25 Investigates has documented. In 2024, 40% of Massachusetts 4th graders were reading at or above grade level, according to The Nation's Report Card. Williamson says 5 years post-COVID, students and families are still grappling with the profound impacts of the pandemic while districts face shrinking budgets. The poll says 43% of Massachusetts parents expressed concern this year about their students' academic performance. That's up from 36% when EdTrust asked that question in 2022. It's more acute for parents of students with disabilities of whom 60% say they are somewhat or very concerned. 69% of parents of multilingual learners say they're concerned. '45% of parents report being concerned about their child's mental health and emotional health,' Williamson said. That worry is also higher for parents of students with disabilities at 63%. Williamson said the survey also revealed a persistent digital divide. 'The digital divide is not merely a relic of the pandemic, but an ongoing and for some populations, an intensifying issue,' said Williamson. Survey results show only 68% of parents from low-income backgrounds say that their family has access to enough devices, which is down from 80% in 2020. 94% of parents from higher income backgrounds say that they have sufficient access to devices. Williamson says it will be important to see how state lawmakers utilize funds from the fair share tax to address concerns around education, when there are so many competing priorities for investment. The concerns may be influencing trust in schools. 62% of parents said their child's teacher is doing the best they can. 47% said the same about their child's school. 40% felt their child's district was doing the best they can. 'Most school districts are really facing an increasingly precarious financial predicament between the recent expiration of COVID funds and the looming threat of federal funding reductions at the national level,' Williamson said. 'I think our school districts are really struggling to meet the needs of students while facing significant fiscal uncertainty.' Related links: 25 Investigates: Lawmakers, advocates want to revamp reading instruction in Mass. schools 25 Investigates: Massachusetts launching free teacher trainings focused on literacy This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Yahoo
25 Investigates: Family of fallen Mass. State Police recruit still waiting for answers
What exactly happened and why? Those questions still haunt the family of the Massachusetts State Police Academy recruit who died after a training exercise in September. Now 25 Investigates with speaking with Enrique Delgado Garcia's stepfather about the ongoing investigation into his death and how it sparked changes at the academy. 'It's been more than 8 months now and we still don't really know what happened,' Jose Ramon Perez-Garcia said in an interview with Boston 25's Kerry Kavanaugh, translated from Spanish. He says it's been a difficult wait for his family as the investigation into the death of his stepson continues. Delgado Garcia was 25 years old when he died after a boxing training exercise at the state police academy last September. Sources familiar with the investigation told 25 Investigates that he suffered broken bones, damaged or missing teeth, and a spinal injury. Sources say he was in the ring with someone else when he stumbled onto the mat but stood back up the fight was allowed to continue. He then collapsed following a blow to the head. Perez-Garcia said Delgado Garcia was someone who loved helping people. He loved being active and was frequently working out or running. He was at the academy with a long-term dream of becoming an attorney who could defend people's rights. 'A young man, just 25 years old, they shattered his dream,' Perez-Garcia said. The Massachusetts Attorney General, Andrea Campbell, appointed an independent investigator to examine the circumstances around how he died. On Wednesday, we learned the investigation is ongoing, and they could not provide further comment. Just this month, the Massachusetts State Police announced major academy reforms, including dividing the upcoming class into two smaller cohorts, appointing new academy leadership, and completing hour-by-hour review of the training curriculum a review of recruits' academy experience. Boxing remains a suspended activity. 25 Investigates also wanted to learn more about the recruits' experiences and culture at the MSP academy. Last October, we asked to review the exit interviews of people who quit the academy. The state asked for more than $176,000 fee to review the public records request. Boston 25 News did not pay that fee. MSP later stated the records were exempt from public records law. Kavanaugh asked Pérez-García if the changes at the academy are enough. He told Kavanaugh that 'the academy needs to change many of the ways it trains a person to be a cadet who's going to serve humanity or who's going to serve their community.' He added that the family does appreciate the steps taken so far. Pérez García said, 'It's all a process and you have to wait, because sometimes things happen very quickly, maybe they don't have a positive result. Let's hope there continues to be change.' Sadly, the family didn't realize the impact Delgado Garcia had on so many in the community until his funeral. They say people told family members they knew him from volunteering with kids or preparing meals, and helping people who speak Spanish navigate the district attorney's office in Worcester, where he worked. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Move to close background check gap for daycare providers following 25 Investigates report
BOSTON, MA - In response to a recent 25 Investigates report exposing a loophole in the screening process for licensed daycare providers, Republican leaders in the Massachusetts State Senate are drafting a budget amendment aimed at requiring international background checks. The current state regulations do not mandate checks for warrants or criminal convictions occurring outside of the United States. A draft of the proposed amendment, filed by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr and Assistant Minority Leader Peter Durant, seeks to mandate that the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) 'to the maximum extent feasible, conduct checks on all international criminal databases.' Furthermore, the draft amendment stipulates that 'any licensees shall submit under the pains and penalties of perjury all information submitted to the department.' The legislative action comes after a 25 Investigates report that highlighted the case of Andre Tiago Lucas. Lucas was wanted in Brazil, having been convicted of raping a 13-year-old. Federal immigration authorities tracked him down to Hyannis in October, where he was residing at his wife's licensed home daycare facility. 'The most recent reporting makes me even more concerned. Ted, that we are not doing an appropriate job of monitoring who is in these facilities into which the care for our children is being entrusted,' State Senator Tarr said in an interview with Ted Daniel. 'Clearly we have to do better and we need to expand the background checks and we also need to increase the penalties for providing false information as it's being gathered by the Department of Early Education and Care.' Todd Lyons, the acting director of ICE, called the situation 'a failure at the state level,' citing both the vetting process of the daycare operator and the fact that Lucas was able to evade authorities while hiding from a prison sentence for a 'heinous crime. Governor Healey previously told 25 Investigates Lucas's wife failed to register him as a household member as required, but even if she had complied with the regulations, his criminal history in Brazil would not have been flagged under the existing screening procedures. EEC follows federal and state laws and regulations regarding background record checks, which does not include screening for immigration status or international criminal history, an agency spokesperson said. The proposed amendment is one of hundreds to be debated before the senate version of the budget is finalized. 'My assumption is that every one of my colleagues wants to make sure that daycare facilities are safe, and wants to make sure that we have appropriate monitoring, appropriate background checks. And I think it's hard to argue with the proposition that those background checks need to be effective and comprehensive as possible,' State Sen. Tarr said. 'My hope is that we'll be able to move forward and make this very simple in many ways, but very powerful change soon. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
25 Investigates: Massachusetts launching free teacher trainings focused on literacy
Massachusetts is facing a crisis in literacy, and now there are new efforts to train up educators across the state. The Departments of Elementary and Secondary Education and Early Education and Care are launching 'Literacy Launch Institutes,' which will focus on Pre-K through third-grade reading. As 25 Investigates has reported, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2024, 60% of Massachusetts 4th graders were reading below grade level. The numbers are even more alarming for black and brown students, as well as children considered economically disadvantaged. 25 Investigates: Parents have new tools to understand literacy instruction in their schools On Wednesday, the state announced the trainings to help teachers get the tools they need to get students back on track. In a press release, Gov. Maura Healey said, 'It's crucial for our teachers to be equipped with the materials and training they need to support all of their students, This summer, these institutes will give hundreds of teachers and school leaders access to cutting-edge training in early literacy best practices at no cost.' This August, the state is offering four full days of training for up to 600 educators at no charge. The trainings will be held in Devens and Foxboro. Interested educators can apply here. Massachusetts-based HILL for Literacy will run the institutes. School teams that participate this summer will be eligible to apply for additional support throughout the 2025-26 school year. 25 Investigates has also reported on new online resources to help families better understand reading instruction in their district. Created by the Massachusetts Education Equity Partnership [MEEP] and EdTrust, the Massachusetts Early Literacy Dashboard is designed to help parents and caretakers navigate the system and understand what's happening in their school district. On the site, you can find your district in a drop-down menu. Then you'll identify literacy score trends and how their reading curriculum stacks up, and if the district has invested in improving that curriculum. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Yahoo
Jennifer McCabe spars with the defense during full day of testimony in Karen Read murder retrial
Jennifer McCabe, one of the last people to see John O'Keefe alive, was on the stand for the entirety of the seventh day of testimony in Karen Read's murder retrial on Wednesday. McCabe testified for hours and at times sparred with the defense as she recounted the morning that John O'Keefe's body was found on January 29, 2022. McCabe says Read admitted to striking O'Keefe and showed damage to Lexus' taillight. The prosecution alleges O'Keefe's body was on McCabe's sister's front lawn when McCabe left that home late at night. McCabe testified that she never saw it. Read attacked McCabe's credibility after listening to a full day of her testimony. 'Another witness, another instance of perjury. Or instances I should say,' Karen Read said outside court. 'I did not tell Jen to make a Google search,' Read said of McCabe's infamous 'hos long to die in cold' search on the morning of O'Keefe's death. Read's lawyers have said that McCabe's search happened hours before O'Keefe was discovered, which could implicate her rather than Read. McCabe has said she made the search later at Read's insistence after they found O'Keefe. Jurors listened to the 911 call McCabe made upon the discovery of O'Keefe's body. 'I need someone to come immediately to 34 Fairview Road Canton, Mass,' a recording of McCabe's voice played in court. 'What's going on?' a dispatcher replied. 'There's a guy unresponsive in the snow,' McCabe said. McCabe said that Read announced that morning, 'I hit them! I hit them! I hit them!' McCabe testified that the memory was 'just as fresh today as it was three years ago.' Defense attorney Alan Jackson challenged that and argued McCabe never mentioned that Read incriminated herself in previous testimony. 'Not one time. Miss McCabe, did you utter the phrase,' Jackson said. 'We found one of my closest friends on the front lawn, and she was saying crazy things and acting crazy,' McCabe replied. McCabe also confirmed federal law enforcement agents came to her Canton home to question her in April 2023. McCabe revealed she made five phone calls, including one to her brother-in-law Brian Abert, before agreeing to speak with the FBI, but initially she told agents she only made two; one to her husband Matt and another to Kerry Roberts. 'That would be a lie by definition,' Jackson pried. 'No, it's not a lie,' McCabe said 'Is there some shade of lie that I'm not aware of?' Jackson replied. McCabe says it was an oversight and she reached out to the federal investigators by phone a short time later to tell them about the other calls. As 25 Investigates has reported, the federal investigation closed months ago with no indictments. McCabe also said she didn't hear any engine revving or yelling outside 34 Fairview at the time the prosecution says Read struck O'Keefe there. There is no court on Thursday but McCabe will be back on the stand for a couple more hours on Friday. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
