Tag: Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee

With end-of-year exams and graduations approaching, what are schools doing to keep the educational process going at such a crucial time of the year?

Seven wellness categories at the high school level were identified in which the district could be doing better: Physical Education, Substance Use, Mental Health, Commitment to School, Bullying, Diversity and Inclusion, Absenteeism and Commitment and Planning.

In an interview, Superintendent Peter Dillon said he and other school officials could not find any evidence of a bomb threat, which was the most pressing concern.

Participants will spend two to four afternoons per week working hands-on in the work world, on construction sites and working farms, earning both class credit and stipends, and learning skills in virtual and physical 'makerspaces.'

But as everyone agrees, any responses must be part of a larger community reckoning with societal problems that our schools reflect but do not create.

Frankly, I never wanted to get into this, but the issues here are so clear and the arrogance of the Great Barrington Selectboard majority is so great that I am doing what I have to do.

Forming a new or combined district, as both have indicated a willingness to explore, could take a minimum of two to three years. In addition, there would need to be a transition period of several months to a year.

Berkshire Hills voted unanimously to appoint two subcommittees. The first will focus on the nuts and bolts of a potential consolidation. On the recommendation of the Southern Berkshire school committee, a second subcommittee would focus on the educational aspect of the potential consolidation.

Mary worked for 37 years as a hairdresser for her own beauty shop in West Stockbridge.

All school committee members were willing to listen but many were skeptical about whether the process would ultimately lead to success.

Now another movement to rename a different school building in Berkshire Hills is taking shape. Supporters of Du Bois are ramping up an effort to rename Monument Valley Regional Middle School in memory of Du Bois.

At last Thursday’s school committee meeting, Rich Dohoney of Great Barrington proposed that Berkshire Hills issue a written request to its member towns, along with the Southern Berkshire Regional School District and its own member towns, to form a planning board "for the purpose of either forming, or consolidating into, a regional high school district to serve grades 9-12."

Led by senior Lucy Doren, about 20 Monument students created a survey to distribute to fellow students, broke up into small groups and began imagining a design crafted around a core schedule, natural lighting, an enclosed courtyard, break-out spaces and more space for the school's growing career and vocational technical education program.

Among the special concerns of the youth coalition members is a perceived deprioritization of health in our schools.

Minus the education side, the proposed town budget itself will rise from $11.37 million to $11.55 million, for an increase of only 1.6 percent.

"I have no idea how this election will turn out. I put signs up this weekend. I asked some people to put up signs and they said no. They liked everybody." -- Great Barrington Selectboard Chair Steve Bannon