Posts by Kayla Shields
Letter from the Chief Executive Officer: Fall 2026
Over the summer and in our fall newsletter, we focus on connectivity and how it is essential to us as humans. Our relationships, or lack thereof, affect our well-being, either positively or negatively. The start of a new school year brings greater connectivity among students, whose need for strong emotional friendships is paramount. It is…
Read MoreA Legacy of Learning: The Liz LeBaron Memorial Scholarship
Years ago, educator Liz LeBaron led a group of students on a bicycle trip to Walden Pond, where they explored the natural surroundings and wrote poetry inspired by what they experienced. The project brought reading and writing beyond the classroom and into the world around them. It became such a meaningful part of her teaching…
Read MoreA New Chapter for Read! Learn! Succeed!
For a young child, receiving a book of their own can be a small but meaningful moment. It is a story they can carry home, share with someone they love, and return to again and again. Over time, those moments can help a child begin to see reading not simply as something they do in…
Read MoreFrom Student to Intern: A Full-Circle Journey
As a local student growing up in Hawley and attending Mohawk Trail, Emily Sisum took part in field trips and classroom activities that helped shape her education. What she did not know at the time was that the Mary Lyon Foundation had helped make many of those experiences possible. Emily’s first visible connection to MLF…
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