In his letter to the editor, Chip Elitzer writes: “For all 58 Massachusetts school districts, that additional amount in FY2017 [that would have been raised by the Education Finance Reform Act] would have been $210 million.”
Maria Rundle is currently the director of development at Gould Farm in Monterey, where she has worked since 2008. Initially managing the childcare program, Rundle was promoted to her current position in 2012 where she has raised a substantial portion of Gould Farm’s annual budget.
“Building relationships with neighboring districts, a concrete plan for the high school, and continuing to explore a way to marry vocational programs to the local economy” are issues that are priorities.
-- Attorney Richard Dohoney, re-elected to the Berkshire Hills Regional School Committee
“Chess combines intellectual and emotional discipline – both of which are desperately needed in this irrational time. At the same time chess requires players to be polite and have decorum.”
-- Gene Kalish, organizer of the Berkshire Hills Chess Club
“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 mission of Flying Cloud Institute, serving over 3,500 students in schools throughout Berkshire County, is to inspire young people and educators through dynamic science and art experiences that ignite creativity.
IN his letter to the editor, Patrick Fennell writes: "RAAC [Regional Agreement Amendment Committee] is just a waste of time and will not solve the real issues with the BHRSD or countywide."
The Deborah Reich Trail, dedicated to long-time Land Trust board member and president Deborah Reich, is located on the former Cosgriff property off of Salisbury Road near the junction with Barnum Sreet (just east of the cemetery).
In her letter to the editor, Michele Shalaby observes: "Many Selectmen continue to criticize the SBRSD administration and request very specific changes without an understanding of current operations or the ramifications."
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.
In her letter to the editor, Sharon Gregory writes: “Can Great Barrington taxpayers keep on paying 70 percent of short-term and long-term school education costs (thereby letting the other towns continue to get a discount at our expense)?”
In her letter to the editor, Susan Bachelder of Egremont writes: “It is up to the Towns to re-establish that legal premise and assert its rights to determine the course of education in their respective Towns.”
