This private, nonprofit school-age program, located in Andover, Mass., serves children in the Andover Public School. Bialo earned a bachelors degree in early childhood education from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a masters degree in the same field from Wheelock College in Boston. SHED was founded in 1984 to serve 18 kindergartners. It now enrolls 300 children in kindergarten through grade eight, with a waiting list of 150 children.
Older children go to SHED before and after school.
SHED also operates a summer camp. The staff includes people from diverse backgrounds including teaching, social work, and individuals whose interest and aptitude for working with children has been nurtured through training. SHED operates in a dedicated facility on the grounds of Phillips Andover Academy and is supported by parental fees. Activities at the SHED program are designed to respond to Howard Gardner's theories of multiple intelligences. In addition, the program has a strong literacy focus, with opportunities to explore and enhance language and literacy skills built in to the environment and daily experiences.