Author: Tammy DiDomenico

When Carin Reeve-Larham accepted the job as principal at Dr. Weeks Elementary School in Syracuse, it wasn’t just a challenging career move. It was personal. “I lived in this neighborhood when I younger,” explained Reeve-Larham, 47, during a recent visit to the school, which serves over 800 students on the North Side of Syracuse, many of whom are immigrants grappling with extreme poverty. “I personally feel connected to this school. I knew what this school meant to the people who live here, and I feel like I understand how we got here.” Dr. Weeks is one of 17 schools in…

Pregnant women often find themselves second-guessing their food choices. It is crucial for women to get prenatal care early in their pregnancies and establish trusting relationships with doctors, midwives and nurses. Physicians have access to the most up-to-date clinical information and often work closely with nutritionists—taking patients’ individual health histories into account. Family physician Luis Castro and nutritionist Lisa Yarah with St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center provide expectant mothers at Primary Care Center-West in Syracuse with nutritional guidance. Castro has been at the center for 17 years, while Yarah brought her 20-plus years of experience to St. Joseph’s last October.…

F or much of my childhood and early adulthood, there was little I enjoyed more than reading. I learned to read very early, inspired by my parents’ nightly ritual of reading the newspaper. I wanted to know why they spent so much time reading those large, noisy pages. This made the transition into school pretty smooth. And there was a library there! I devoured science and Judy Blume books alike. When I got bored with the daily neighborhood kickball games played in the street in front of my house, I would grab a book and sit under the tree in our…

Quoc Nguyen, M.D., has professional and personal motivations for his diligence in tracking local trends in the spread of mosquito and tick-borne illnesses. As Onondaga County medical director, he fields questions about and advises local physicians on preventing exposure to, and treatment of those illnesses—which become more common during the warm weather months. An avid outdoorsman and father of five grown children, Nguyen also wants to make sure he does what he can to protect his own health. With Eastern equine encephalitis, Lyme disease, the Zika virus, and other insect-borne illnesses so frequently in the local and national news, Family…

While educators have been focused on the ever-changing academic demands of our high-tech society, psychiatrists and school health personnel have been busy with another challenge facing students: the increasing use of psychiatric medications. Often these medications need to be administered during the school day. In its 2012 guide for community agencies serving children and adolescents, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reported that the increased use of these medications over the past 20 years has produced a body of evidence “to support its effectiveness when used appropriately.” Physicians such as Dr. Adrienne Allen, a pediatric psychiatrist with the…

Pertussis—or whooping cough—is one of those illnesses many Americans no longer take seriously. Once a vaccine became widely available in the 1940s, the highly contagious infection was rarely diagnosed in the United States; fewer than 1,000 cases were reported in 1976. But by 2012, that number had risen to nearly 42,000. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported that a decrease in immunization of young children, and waning immunity in adults, has contributed to this resurgence. Initially, pertussis symptoms may resemble those of a mild cold: runny nose, fever and mild cough. But the cough persists weeks later.…

From the time children are born until they are buying their own clothes, parents spend a lot of time thinking about their growth. Babies tend to go through steady periods of growth that are closely linked to their nutritional intake. These patterns are studied very closely by their pediatricians. As children reach puberty, the growth patterns are far less typical, and can be (literally) painful. With teen boys growing as much as five inches in a single year, it can sometimes feel like more like a metamorphosis than a gentle transition. Robert Dracker, M.D., medical director for Summerwood Pediatrics—with offices…

While many parents find themselves pleading with their children to step away from video games and other electronic distractions, Syracuse resident Anton Ninno and other local teachers, parents and business owners are fostering a love for chess—the low-tech board game of strategy that has origins dating back to the sixth century. Ninno, 63, is a teacher at Southside Academy Charter School in Syracuse, where he advises a thriving chess club. Through Syracuse Chess, Inc., he and other chess enthusiasts are helping more schools form clubs, and are organizing local tournaments. Why is chess having a moment? Ninno isn’t exactly sure.…

It was 11:40 a.m. on a Monday. A school break was under way, and 12 hours earlier, the house was bustling with activity—mostly from my 15-year-old son and his friends. They played a rousing game of indoor basketball with my younger son, terrifying the dog. They watched television. They FaceTimed with another pal and posted some nonsense on Instagram. They raided the refrigerator and the pantry while my husband and I slept. But as morning wore on, there was only silence. The trio of high school freshmen was out cold; two collapsed on the basement floor, another on the couch.…

Hip-hop music doesn’t typically call to mind the description “kid friendly.” But Syracuse musicians Samar Moseley and Tyrone Jackson have found inspiration in their day gig as bus drivers for the Syracuse City School District. While other rappers may boast about street violence or ill-gotten riches, this duo—known as 1306—applies catchy beats to cautionary raps on bus safety and working toward graduation. Last year, 1306 released a three-song EP, Mr. Bus Driver, with positive raps on school-related issues. They also performed at city schools. In an interview with Family Times, Moseley, 35, said that while he and Jackson, 37, continue…