In a letter to the editor, Elliott Morss writes: "Would spending serious money marketing the Berkshires help to spur tourism? Maybe. But maybe we should just carry on and try to avoid 'messing things up.'"
"A lot of different needs have come into the building that have been absorbed over a relatively short period of time, and how to accommodate all of theses needs while being as inclusive as possible has been a challenge. We are doing a lot of interesting things here to try and rise to that challenge, and I was really interested in being part of it."
--Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School principal Timothy Lee
It’s a tricky business, the building issue, but it’s an opportunity, ultimately, to create the space that would move programming forward. The structure of this building is a real barrier to innovation.
-- Amy Rex, principal of Monument Mountain Regional High School
Only 15 percent of Berkshire Hills third graders met or exceeded expectations in reading ability, compared to a state average of 47 percent, with 25 percent meeting the same threshold in SBRSD.
“We should be celebrating the fact that when they get to high school, our students are leading the pack. Teachers do above and beyond. It’s not about a damn test; it’s about the kids.”
--- Southern Berkshire Regional School Committee member Charlie Flynn
"We are punished over high stakes tests that do not augment our kids’ educations but only give the state more control over local funds. This is all about power and the market forces at play with high stakes testing companies, forces that did not exist before No Child Left Behind [2001].”
--- Maria Rundle, Southern Berkshire Regional School Committee member and mother of three students in the New Marlborough Elementary School
The rigorous schedule of standardized testing was cited as preventing the Lenox Memorial Middle and High School Band from practicing, and therefore being unprepared for the parades.
“I am sad, I’m disgusted, embarrassed for the town of Lenox. The school should have leadership and teach respect to veterans. This is a civics lesson.”
-- State Rep. (and Lenox native) William “Smitty” Pignatelli
The Southern Berkshire Regional School District (SBRSD) School Committee resolves that neither parent who chooses to opt their children out of the PARCC, MCAS, MCAS 2.0, or any other high stakes standardized test nor students will not be subject to any negative consequences from the SBRSD administration or the SBRSD School Committee.
The threat that school districts face, and the fear which is driving some communication with districts and parents, is that of the possibility of state sanctions for low test participation rates.
On the eve of the MCAS testing season there is growing concern among Berkshire educators and parents that the culture of standardized testing is crippling public education by stifling effective and engaging teaching practices. One avenue of protest is for parents to have their children opt out of taking the test.
The school website says that school will be open tomorrow, Friday, April 3rd from 8 a.m. to noon, for parents and students to claim personal belongings. The message says to please check in at the main office in order to claim items.
Standardized testing is under fire across the country. Parents and teachers have grown mutinous. On her Facebook page, one Florida kindergarten teacher said she refused to give state-mandated reading tests to her students. Parents and educators applauded.
