Massachusetts
Champion for diversity at Lexington elementary school wins Massachusetts Counselor of the Year award – The Boston Globe
Henry Wan, a school counselor at Harrington Elementary School in Lexington, was named the Massachusetts School Counselor of the Year at a packed school gymnasium on Tuesday in front of more than 400 students, teachers, school administrators, and government officials.
The surprise ceremony, hosted by the school in partnership with the Massachusetts School Counselors Association, which has been presenting the award for over 40 years, caught Wan completely off guard.
Wan thought he was there to broadcast a video from his “We All Belong Project,” an initiative he started four years ago that creates monthly videos featuring students and their families talking about their cultural backgrounds and what makes them unique.
Instead, school principal Jackie Daley turned the tables on Wan and told him they were also gathered there to celebrate him, a counselor known in the community as a champion for diversity and inclusion.
“As a person of color, I felt overlooked before in life,” Wan, a Chinese-American who grew up in Quincy, told the Globe. His parents moved to Massachusetts from Hong Kong and the counselor moved to Lexington eight years ago to work at Harrington.
“That’s why I’m so passionate about coming here and telling the stories of students,” he said. “They really are beautiful people with amazing things to contribute, and I don’t want any of these kids to be overlooked.”
Wan was chosen by an eight-person committee from a pool of 20 applicants state-wide. By winning the award, Wan secured $5,000 from Wellpoint, a health benefits company based in Woburn that sponsored the event. Wan and school officials will later decide what to do with the funds — the award is for enhancing school programming, equipment, or supplies.
The award also guarantees Wan a spot in the 2027 national competition for school counselors run by the American School Counselor Association. Winners will be announced at a gala in Washington in November next year.
Wan was nominated for the award by Daley, who said the counselor is “always extending himself” far beyond his duties, serving as a foster family liaison for the school district, helping kids in the foster care system.
Massachusetts School Counselor of the Year.David L. Ryan/ Globe Staff
Apart from the monthly video series that Wan edits and directs with students and their parents, his “We All Belong Project” also promotes gatherings with students from different backgrounds once or twice a semester to foster friendships and connections. The meetings often feature high school student guest speakers with learning differences who can serve as role models for kids in the groups with ADHD, dyslexia, Down syndrome, or other learning challenges.
“During her elementary years, my daughter struggled with anxiety, regulating her emotions, and she had a hard time opening up to adults,” said Meg Tabela, a Harrington parent and former PTA president who provided a letter of support for Wan’s application.
“I was shocked when I heard her talking openly with Mr. Wan over Zoom during COVID homeschooling,” she added. “I knew at that very moment how special he was and that he had gained her trust, something few adults had ever done.”
For Bob Bardwell, executive director of the Massachusetts School Counselors Association, counselors need to be celebrated and elevated in school communities because they play such a critical role in a child’s ability to learn.
“Especially now when mental health is so critical, if a kid can’t regulate their feelings and they can’t attend to school, then their teacher could be the best teacher on the planet, but that student won’t be ready to learn or can’t learn without the help of a counselor,” Bardwell said.
Patrick Tutwiler, Massachusetts secretary of education, who attended the ceremony, agreed.
“We need to remember that school counselors have a background that is clinical in nature, so they can not only help students navigate the ins and outs of the school day, but can also be the first stop, the first responder, if you will, for students who are having a mental health challenge,” he said.
Mariana Simões can be reached at mariana.simoes@globe.com. Follow her on X @MariRebuaSimoes.
Massachusetts
Gas prices in Massachusetts dip below $4 a gallon for first time in 2 months
Gas prices dipped below $4 a gallon in Massachusetts Thursday for the first time in exactly two months.
According to AAA, the average price for a gallon of regular gas in Massachusetts is now $3.99, down from $4.02 on Wednesday.
That’s the first time the average fell below the $4 mark since April 25.
The national average on Thursday was $3.92 a gallon, AAA said. That average was above $4 for nearly three months before it fell to $3.99 a week ago on June 18.
Gas prices rose sharply after the war between the U.S. and Iran started on February 28.
A spokesperson for GasBuddy, which also tracks fuel price data, said the national average has been dropping for six weeks as the “recent U.S.-Iran framework agreement has helped ease supply fears.”
The company said the national average should keep falling to $3.75 by July 4.
“Six weeks of declines sounds like good news, and in some ways it is, but the context matters,” Patrick De Haan, a petroleum expert at GasBuddy, said in a statement Thursday.
“At roughly $3.75, this would be the second most expensive July 4 ever recorded, roughly 65 cents higher than last year and nearly $1 above where prices started in 2026. The U.S.-Iran agreement gives markets hope, but it’s being tested, and any breakdown in those talks could reverse the recent relief quickly. Drivers should use every tool available to find the lowest prices near them before filling up.”
A year ago at this time, the average price for a gallon of gas in Massachusetts was $3.10, according to AAA.
The all-time high in the state is $5.05 a gallon, set back in June 2022.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts man accused of wanting sex with girl busted in World Cup trafficking operation
A Massachusetts man who allegedly looked to have sex with a 15-year-old girl and bring drugs and alcohol to the meet-up has been arrested during a crackdown on human trafficking amid the World Cup.
Richard Lallier, 34, of Rehoboth, is one of 13 individuals who face exploitation and trafficking charges stemming from an operation that the FBI Boston has partnered on with the Massachusetts State Police and Rhode Island State Police during the global soccer tournament, dubbed “Operation Red Card.”
“Participating agencies emphasized that while major international sporting events bring significant economic and cultural benefits to host communities,” the Rhode Island State Police said in a statement on Tuesday, “they may also create opportunities for traffickers and those who exploit vulnerable populations.”
“Law enforcement agencies throughout the region remain committed to proactive enforcement efforts designed to deter human trafficking, identify victims, and hold offenders accountable,” the State Police added.
The Rhode Island State Police arrested six individuals, including Lallier, while the Massachusetts State Police apprehended seven suspects during a five-day operation between June 12 and 16.
The suspects arrested in Massachusetts range in age between 21 and 71, all of whom have been arraigned on state charges of sex for a fee with a child under 18, enticement of a child under 16, and attempted rape of a child.
In Rhode Island, Lallier, with a last known address in Rehoboth, is being held without bail on charges of attempted enticement, attempted interstate travel for sexual contact with a minor under 16 years old, and attempted transmission of obscene material to a minor.
Lindsay Laurie, a Rhode Island state trooper who went undercover to operate a Facebook profile that featured “age-regressed images” of herself, said in an affidavit that she informed Lallier via Messenger that he was speaking to a 15-year-old.
In response, Lallier, who went by the name of “Frank Land” on Facebook, allegedly said he was 34 years old before he asked for a “naughty video.”
Lallier also allegedly “sent multiple videos of his penis” to the undercover profile.
Two days later, last Wednesday, Lallier messaged the undercover profile again, explaining that he wanted to find “snow,” a “code word for cocaine,” Laurie stated. Lallier said he would “bring weed and fireball” to a meetup.
Last Friday, after Lallier confirmed to the undercover profile that he arrived in Rhode Island’s Lincoln Woods State Park, authorities arrested him, according to Laurie’s affidavit.
Major international events, such as the World Cup, lead to “large-scale travel” and “increased demand for lodging,” creating “opportunities for criminal exploitation,” according to Michael Soper, the program director of Boston Hotel Watch, an intelligence network connecting hotels and law enforcement.
Soper pointed to the “rapid expansion of short-term rental platforms” in creating a “significant and evolving challenge” to prevent human trafficking since the accommodations often have “less oversight, fewer standardized security protocols, and limited participation in established reporting networks.”
“As a result,” Soper said in a statement shared with the Herald, “illicit activity may occur outside the visibility of hospitality professionals and law enforcement partnerships, making the full scope of the problem difficult to measure.”
Massachusetts
Arlington Nonprofit Receives Statewide Grant Funding
“We are proud to support this remarkable group of nonprofit organizations and the essential work they do across Massachusetts,” Sincere Foundation Executive Director Rebecca Reiner said in a statement. “Their collective impact strengthens communities throughout the Commonwealth and we are honored to help advance their efforts.”
According to the foundation, grant recipients were selected across three focus areas: food security, housing stability, and safe spaces. Organizations receiving support in the food security category alongside Food Link include The Open Door in Gloucester, Worcester County Food Bank, Food For Free, and other nonprofits working to increase access to nutritious food.
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