Children Age 5-18

Welcome to Schools in the United States

 An overview of navigating your child's school in the US: English | Spanish | Dari | Pashto 

Acton-Boxborough Regional School District

• Registration for new students

• Online Kindergarten registration for each fall typically opens mid-January, with applications due by the end of March to be included in the school choice lottery.  Information sessions for each of the schools held through February and March.   Sign up here to receive email updates on Kindergarten registration and to let us know about potential sibling and All Day Kindergarten (ADK) requests. This sign-up is not registration.    If you have any questions, please contact the Elementary Registrar, Candace Doncaster, at registrar@abschools.org  or 978 264-4700 x 3310.

• The Kindergarten information night about Kindergarten registration (for children who will be 5 by September 1, 2024) is postponed till end of February.  More information here.

Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School

After-School List

• Beyond the Bell at Boys & Girls Club of Assabet Valley 

  • 212 Great Rd., Maynard .  You must bring your kid(s) to Maynard, no bus.

  • www.bgcav.org    978-461-2871 

  • Kindergarten till 12th grade.   Open 2:30-6:00 (so a slight gap with AB Schools schedule for Wednesdays). 

  • $80/year membership allows students to come for FREE every day.   (Interest-free loan program available to pay for services.)

• Acton-Boxborough Community Ed Extended Day Program 

  • https://abce.abschools.org/extended_day    978-266-2525 x3

  • In each elementary school and 15 Charter Rd. Admin Bldg 

  • Kindergarten till 6th grade.  7-8:50am,  3:20-6pm (Wednesdays 12:50-6pm).  Fixed schedule only.    Drop in available for some no school days and school vacations

  • Pre-registration starts April/May.  Waitlist available, first come first served - no exceptions.

  • Limited financial help available (vouchers no longer accepted)

Students may take the bus to a licensed childcare provider for after-school care. (Parents must submit a Permanent Bus Pass.) These programs qualify: 

• Fun Learning Place After School Care 

  • 12 Concord Rd, Acton - school bus brings kids

  • https://funlearningplace.org/      978-837-8840

  • Kindergarten till 8th grade.  After school till 6:15pm

  • Bilingual staff: Chinese

• Peter Pippos Karate Center 

  • 3 Post Office Square , school bus or Peter Pippos bus brings kids 

  • https://www.peterpipposkarate.com   978-631-0750 

  • Kindergarten till 8th grade.   After school till  6:00 pm. 

Find more info on childcare (incl after school) assistance from the tab "Cost Saving Programs" on this website.

Local non-profit organizations for families with children aged 5-12

• Acton-Boxborough Family Network

  • Service, and cultural opportunities for families and their young children ages 0-8.    Our members live in Acton, Boxborough, and many neighboring towns.  If the membership fee is a hardship for any family, ABFN offers a reduced or waived fee. Direct them to contact membership@abfamily.org. All inquiries will be kept confidential.

• Community Playground List

• Danny's Place Youth Services

  • Inclusive and supportive programming for all youth ages 8-18, mostly free or low cost (cost is waived if the family cannot pay, no questions asked).  The programs fall into 3 core areas: Self-exploration and life skills, mental health and wellness, and community building and leadership.

• AB Community Ed  

  • after-school programs, vacation and summer programs, also reservation of school buildings and facilities.  No sliding scale or grants, Doli Atamian grants are accepted.

• Acton Recreation Department 

  • after-school programs, vacation and summer programs, also reservation of Nara Park Beach, Camp Acton (where you can go camping) and  other town sport facilities.  No sliding scale or grants, Doli Atamian grants are accepted.   Register here  for programs

• Boxborough Recreation Department organizes summer programs and some youth sports.  Sliding scale might be possible.  Doli Atamian grants are accepted.

• Boys and Girls Club of Assabet Valley : 

  • provides  summer and winter programs,  after-school programs, and birthday parties, all in Maynard.  Sliding scale cost, payment plans offered.

  • provides a free "Virtual Club with MyFuture" – a mobile-friendly social platform with access to over 250 Boys & Girls Club program activities in areas such as STEM, leadership, and the arts. 

• AB PIP STEM

• Acton Chinese Language School

• Acton Tamil School

• AB Cub Scouts: for boys and girls ages 5-10 or grades K-5;

• Girl Scouts for girls ages K - 12th grade - email JoinABGirlScouts@gmail.com 

• Scouts BSA for boys and girls ages 11-18 or grades 5-12

• Discovery Museum  

  • A hands-on museum for children and their caregivers that blends science, nature, and play.  Fully accessible campus and giant treehouse, free events for families with disabilities, at-home STEAM activities (available online in 6 languages), free adult speaker events, grandparents blog, discount library passes, and more!

• Acorns to Oaks Horsemanship Center aims to provide a place that fosters positive physical and mental health for people and horses by providing equine-assisted learning and community events,  horseback riding lessons and boarding.

• All 3 libraries (Acton Memorial Library, Boxborough Sargent Memorial Library, West Acton Citizen's Library) are free and open to residents of any town.  All 3 have many free programs for children, teens and adults.  They also have a growing number of non-English books and audiobooks.

• Doli Atamian Campership Program -

  • grants for summer camps and beach passes

• The Miracle League of MA 

  • gives children (ages 5-22) with special needs a chance to play baseball

• The Paul Center in Chelmsford - provides unique educational, social, and recreational programs to individuals with disabilities and their families.

• Be SMART for Kids -  prevent child gun deaths and injuries

• See below for youth sports

• Check the social media groups under "Events & Adult Activities"

• SPARK Kindness 

  • A nonprofit convener, educator, resource, and friend—and the biggest fan of our community's shared strengths. SPARK Kindness hosts speakers, parenting groups, community activities, and support for free, whenever needed.  Together we can make sure no one feels alone, bullied, unsupported, or unconnected—every day and especially in the most challenging times.

• The Think Give Project's social and emotional learning program inspires students to be thinkers, upstanders, and changemakers

• Wildflowerforkids - helping  children who have lost a parent rediscover life

• The Children's Room - grief support for children, teens and families

Local non-profit organizations for tweens and teenagers

• Danny's Place Youth Services

  • Inclusive and supportive programs for all youth ages 8-18

• AB PIP STEM

• Acton Chinese Language School

• Acton Tamil School

• MABLE SWE Next Club - Free Engineering programs for girls grades 5-7 from Maynard, Acton, Boxborough, Littleton.

• All 3 libraries (Acton Memorial Library,  Boxborough Sargent Memorial Library , West Acton Citizen's Library) are free and open to residents of any town.  The Acton and Boxborough libraries offer multiple programs for tweens and teenagers.  They also have a growing number of non-English books and audiobooks.

• Acton Recreation Department (including Nara Park & Beach and Camp Acton where you can go camping).  Register here for programs

• AB Community Ed  (after school, holiday and summer programs, also reservation of school buildings and facilities)

• Doli Atamian Campership Program - grants for summer camps and beach passes

• AB Cub Scouts: for boys and girls ages 5-10 or grades K-5 ;

• Girl Scouts for girls ages K - 12th grade - email JoinABGirlScouts@gmail.com 

• Dance and Theater

  • Youth Dance Classes - Acton Women's Club Ballroom Dancing – a tradition for AB 5th graders and up – sign-up as of June 1 for fall 

  • Open Door Theater -  theater for adults, children, and people with disabilities

  • There are quite some  private dance and theater businesses in Acton and Boxborough!

• Driver's Education: can start as of 15 years and 9 months.   Via AB Community Ed or private.

• Acorns to Oaks Horsemanship Center aims to provide a place that fosters positive physical and mental health for people and horses by providing equine-assisted learning and community events,  horseback riding lessons and boarding.

• Children age 12 - 18 can ride alone with parent's permission on the free MinuteVan Dial-a-Ride and the CAT shuttle bus in Acton 

• The Miracle League of MA - gives children with disabilities a chance to play baseball,  other kids can volunteer as a buddy as of age 12

• Be SMART for Kids -  prevent child gun deaths and injuries

• See also below for referee opportunities in town youth sports for teens

• Check the social media groups under "Community Connections"

Youth Sports 

These are websites for Acton-Boxborough youth town sports – all volunteer-driven, and parents are the coaches.  Most have both town and travel teams.  Town teams play local in our own or neighboring town, travel teams start only as of a specific age, often have tryouts to select players, and travel up to an hour away for games.    Most practice 1 or 2 nights a week and have a game on Saturday or Sunday. Most only have a fall, winter or spring season, some have both fall and winter. 

• AB Boys Youth Lacrosse: Boys grades 1-8.  spring season

• AB Girls Youth Lacrosse : girls K-8.   Register in Oct/Nov (/Dec/Jan) for spring season

• AB Girls Youth Softball: girls K-age 18.  Register in August (mid-September) for the fall season.

• AB Youth Baseball: Kindergarten (Tee Ball), 1st grade – age 16.  Register in August for the fall season, and register in October for the travel spring season.

• AB Youth Hockey:  ages 2-18.  

  • Learn to skate: Register in September for fall season and December for winter season.

  • Hockey teams: Register in March for the season starting in September

• AB Youth Soccer: age 4 (pre-K) - 18.  Register in July/Aug (depending on age) for fall season, xx for the spring season.

  • Children age 12 and above can be a referee for town soccer games.  Check with the town soccer coaches for info.

• AB Winter Basketball: grades 3-12.  Register as of early September for the winter season .

  • Children aged 14 and above can be a referee for town basketball games: in the CommEd catalog, click on register and search for "referee".

• Miracle League: baseball for children with disabilities ages 5-22.  Spring and fall season.

• Pop Warner Football/Cheer: age 5-15.  Register April-June for the fall season

Fitness: the AB Fitness Center Gym at the AB High School is open to AB Adults & students age 14+.  More info here.  There are also many private fitnesses in our community.

Most sports also have youth sport clubs, that are open to children from any town, coaches are often but not always professional coaches, cost is typically higher,  there are typically tryouts to select players and/or assign players to the different levels per age category.   Coaches and directors of the AB travel or school teams can typically provide information on which clubs are available in the area for their sport.   

School Sports : 

Elementary schools don't organize school sports outside school hours.   

You can find the Jr High athletics information here, and the one for Highschool here.    Every sport only runs for 1 trimester (fall, winter or spring).  Some sports have tryouts, some don't.  Some sports have a team for 7th grade, 8th grade, Freshmen (9th grade), JV (grades 9-12) and Varsity (grades 9-12, top team), while other sports only have some of these teams.

You need to register in the Family ID website 1-3 months before the start of the season.  More information on how to sign-up for the Jr High here, and for the Highschool here.    You can find some varsity games online on Acton TV.

Note that rowing, squash and ultimate frisbee  are club sports (so different fees and no transportation by the school for practice/competitions) however they compete against teams from other schools.

Acton and Boxborough have also private businesses that offer sports for kids through their own website, or through AB Community Ed,  Acton Recreation Department or Boxborough Recreation Department.

See more info on other recreation options under Trails, Nature & Sports

Help Paying for Youth Sports

For town sports, contact the registrar, president, director or coach of the town sport organization to check if they can waive the fee or provide scholarships.  You can find their email typically on the website under "Contact Us".   Town basketball does not offer scholarships, you can arrange for a payment plan.  For soccer you need to fill in this form.

Many clubs have financial aid available - check on their website or contact the club directly.

Fees for school sports are waived for eligible families by applying for free/reduced meals (this must be done to get other fees waived even though meals are free for all students)

The non-profit Every Kids Sports provides grants to help cover youth sports registration fees.   Visit everykidsports.org.

Activities to do at home 

• Boys and Girls Club of Assabet Valley  

  • Free virtual club - MyFuture - web platform with over 300 activities for kids to do at home in 14 program areas such as STEM, leadership, and the arts.

•  Discovery Museum list of at-home activities to do with kids

• AB PIP STEM at home STEM Activities

• AB Transition to School Resources

• Acton library children's storytimes and activities on YouTube Channel, and other online programs and resources

• Boxborough Library craft instruction videos and other programs for children

• Boston Museum of Science at Home

• William James Virtual and at Home Activities

Parental Hotline and Parenting Groups

• Parental Stress Hotline- Call 1-800-632-8188 (available 24/7 in all languages)

• Wayside Virtual Parent Groups: for parents and young adults ages 16-25

• Free Parenting Groups: Parents of multiples, Ages 1-3, for Spanish Speakers, and more

• 4-Week Parenting Groups: for kids <7, for Exec. Functioning, Reducing Anxiety, and more 

• Parents Helping Parents Groups: various online support groups for parents 

Car Seats

• Children age 5 till about 9 to 12 should still have a car seat.  A forward-facing car seat should be used till the age of 5-7 depending on the height and weight on the label of the car seat.  A booster seat should be used until the seat belt fits them properly (when the lap belt is across the upper thighs (not the stomach) and the shoulder belt is across the center of the shoulder and chest (not the neck/face or off the shoulder).  This happens typically around the age of 9 to 12.

• Find general information about carseats and child's passenger safety at this CDC website

• Find the right car seat for your child based on age, height and weight at nhtsa.gov/TheRightSeat  

• Follow these tips to install your carseat