The city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, doesn't need national accolades to prove that it is a great place to live, work, and raise families, but it has them. In 2010, "Parents Magazine" ranked Pittsburgh fourth among the top 100 cities for raising babies and Forbes.com ranked the Pittsburgh metropolitan area the number one most livable…

The demise of recess in many elementary schools--and of outdoor play in general--is an issue of great concern to many members of the Play, Policy, and Practice Interest Forum. Most people remember recess as an important part of the school day. It was a time to be outdoors; to organize games; to play on the swings, slides, and other playground…

In this article, the author describes how she created a universally accessible playground where children of all disabilities can play together. She created this project as a way to channel her grief after her son, Jonathan, died of spinal muscular atrophy. This playground, built in the author's hometown of West Hartford, Connecticut, led to the…

Mount Joy Township is located in southeastern Pennsylvania, in Adams County. It is immediately adjacent to the historic battlefield and town of Gettysburg. Though irregular in shape, it averages about 5 miles from north to south and 41 miles from east to west, and contains approximately 36 square miles. The population of the township in 1910 was…

Girard College was founded and endowed by Stephen Girard, mariner and merchant, a native of France, who came to Philadelphia in 1776. After a long life of service to his adopted city, State, and country, he died in 1831, leaving the bulk of his estate in trust to the city of Philadelphia for the erection and maintenance of what is now known as…

In the last 8 or 10 years there has been unusual progress in the establishment of kindergartens in most of the cities and States, but still the kindergarten is a phase of school work less known than the work of the grades in the elementary schools. Many school officers and school architects lack information as to the character of rooms and…