WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School District is making progress in closing up its buildings for the year even as it thinks about ways to close out the high school careers of its 2020 graduating class.

 

On Wednesday afternoon, the School Committee met to finalize the terms of a memorandum of understanding between the district and its custodians, the last bargaining unit requiring a resolution to reflect the new job conditions under the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

"It looks like we'll be bringing the custodians in in the coming days for them to start the cleaning process at the schools," Superintendent Kimberley Grady said shortly after the committee voted to approve the deal following a brief executive session. "We've had our teachers come in to the schools to pick up additional resources or take things out of their rooms that they would normally be bringing home for the summer.

 

"I've heard some feedback on that: many tears. It was a rough closure."

 

Students also in the weeks ahead will be allowed back into the district's three schools on a controlled basis to pick up anything left behind on March 13, the last day of in-school classes for the 2019-20 academic year at Lanesborough Elementary, Williamstown Elementary and Mount Greylock.

 

Grady reported Wednesday that WES Principal Joelle Brookner will reach out to her school's families toward the end of May, LES Principal Nolan Pratt said pickups could begin as early as Monday, May 4, and Mount Greylock Principal Mary MacDonald said the middle-high school will begin pickups in a week, starting with its seniors.

 

While the custodians needed to finalize their MOA later Wednesday night, the district already has agreements in place with its teachers, paraprofessionals and cafeteria staff. The teachers have been conducting remote learning since mid-April are keeping busy through the closure, Grady reported.

 

"The cafeteria workers began back to work on Monday," she said. "They started at the elementary schools. We divided up the members of the Mount Greylock Regional School cafe workers down to the two elementary schools to get those kitchens cleaned up and closed up for the summer, as well as inventory.

 

"We'll be looking for them to do some professional development through our Public SchoolWORKS program. Eileen Belastock has been able to set those programs up for them, so we have a nice plan for the cafeteria workers."

 

Grady said many of the district's paraprofessionals stayed engaged before their MOA was finalized last week, but now "all of them are re-engaged" both in terms of work with students and professional development.

 

And she said the district is exploring ideas on how to recognize members of the class of 2020, who are missing out on prom, graduation and other activities because of the pandemic.

 

"We have bounced around some ideas," Grady said. "Berkshire County superintendents have talked about different ideas. We have not forgotten our seniors. We are trying to come up with a way to safely have a graduation ceremony … something so that it's least memorable for them to be acknowledged for this milestone in their life.

 

"As Mary [MacDonald] gets a little closer with some of her information and we confirm with our Board of Health and town manager that we'll be able to orchestrate something for the 84 students, we'll be letting the School Committee know and hoping you can participate in this celebration with us."

 

Grady said plans are being discussed for holding a "crossing over" ceremony for the sixth-graders at the district's two elementary schools in August, before they head to the middle-high school.