These days, the only things my daughter wants to talk about are spring break and Easter fun. But every NYC public school parent I know can't stop talking about all of the huge education-related things that have gone down this week, from the many protests against high-stakes testing throughout the city; to the New York State Education Department's decision to cancel its agreement to share students' private data with inBloom; to the NYC Department of Education amending its grade promotion policy for third to eighth graders so that passing the ELA and Math Assessments is no longer the main criteria for moving up. (That last one is still pending the approval of the Panel on Educational Policy.)

Clearly we public school families have a lot to digest, although I doubt we'll want to spend too much time on all that over spring break when there are so many awesome things to do. My daughter and I are planning a staycastion packed with museums, theater, egg decorating and leisurely afternoons in the park. But lots of our friends are hoping to get out of the city for a day trip or two. Awesome tri-state area getaways to consider include this weekend's annual Sheep-to-Shawl Festival at Philipsburg Manor in Westchester, laser tag fun on Long Island and New Jersey's iPlay America indoor amusement park and arcade. Checking our regional sites is always a great way to spark your destination inspiration.

Whatever you end up doing with your time off, we wish you and your family lots of memorable adventures! Here's what else we covered on the NYC site this week: