![After Massachusetts voted to remove the MCAS graduation requirement, policy makers are reshaping graduation standards. "The top-line understanding is that we’ve moved away from a system that we’ve known for about 24 years, which is one where every school district in Massachusetts had wide latitude to decide what their graduation requirements were in terms of coursework or other experiences, but every single student, in order to earn a diploma, needed to pass the MCAS in one English, one math and one science assessment," Massachusetts Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler said. "We’ve moved away from that now, by virtue of the outcome of [the MCAS] ballot question in November, to a place where communities can still decide what their graduation requirements are, but there’s no requirement for students to pass the MCAS.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/img_3067_720.png)
![Troy Hoyt finishes the Boston Marathon, running for the Hoyt Foundation. T. Hoyt is the son of Hoyt Foundation CEO Russ Hoyt.
“[Running a marathon] might seem like a big thing, when it’s presented to you at first, but if you break it up and just keep telling yourself, “Yes, you can,” you can start chipping away at it. And before you know it, you’ll be running the whole 26 miles, and you won’t even think twice about it.” T. Hoyt said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/C36E8761-1CBB-452E-9DF2-543EF7B1095E_1_105_c.jpeg)
![At 5:45 a.m. on April 19, a reenactment of the Battles of Lexington and Concord took place at Old North Bridge in Concord. The reenactment was followed by a parade, where several dignitaries, including Gov. Maura Healey, gave speeches. "This is our generation's time, standing here in this place at this moment, we must commit ourselves to defending [freedom]," Healey said. "That's what I will do, and I encourage everyone who knows our history and values our freedom to do the same."](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/93EBB942-34BA-42D3-85A5-220D17FE7E44_1_105_c.jpeg)
![From left to right, junior Ben Pyhtila, sophomores Aadith Charry and Owen Chislett play their cello instruments. Junior Jubin Kim also plays the cello and has been playing the instrument since third grade. "I think that [the cello] is a good balance between a high instrument versus a low instrument, and I just really like the rich sound that it makes," Kim said.](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_6540-1200x800.jpg)
The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), a group based in Topeka, Kansas known for protesting military funerals and for their vocal anti-gay and anti-Islamic agenda is coming to Wayland on Friday December 3 to protest at the Islamic Center of Boston from 7:50 to 8:20 am.
A student-organized fundraiser will take place near this location to raise money for groups the WBC protests. Some students also have expressed plans to counter-protest the WBC at the event. Stay tuned to WSPN for continuing coverage throughout the day.
We will be providing live coverage of the event as it unfolds starting shortly before the event (you do not need to refresh this page to see the live blog start, or subsequent updates).
8:22 AM EST: Live blog coverage has ended. See the replay below.
Westboro Baptist Church Protest LIVE BLOG
ERROR: It was reported that Shelby Phelps-Roper was present. It was actually Shirley Phelps-Roper.
![On Tuesday April 1, Boston Globe journalist and Boston University professor David Abel answered questions about his award-winning film “Inundation District.” The film delved into the risks of extreme floods the Seaport region of Boston is facing amidst commercial development. Abel was inspired by his climate studies that revealed grave statistics. “I have covered report after report after report with projections about how our seas are likely to rise over the coming decades,” Abel said. “And it would seem, as I would get each new report, that the worst case projections would only get [more] dire. That left me feeling like this was a really significant story that needs to be told in ways that are hard to just tell in print.”](https://waylandstudentpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-06-at-9.40.04 PM-e1743990080418-1200x800.png)