Pittsfield Schools Awarded Funds to Boost FAFSA Completion | 11:01AM / Wednesday, May 01, 2024 | |
BOSTON — The Healey-Driscoll Administration is providing grants to more than 100 Massachusetts public schools serving Gateway Cities to help high school seniors complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In Berkshire County, Eagle Education Academy will receive $30, Pittsfield High School will receive $5,400 and Taconic High will receive $5,670. These grants, totaling more than $550,000, follow an announcement that the state's priority deadline to apply for Massachusetts financial aid via MASSGrant has been extended from May 1 to July 1, 2024. The awards are also intended to support schools amid unique nationwide challenges with this year's >> Read More |
Pittsfield School Committee OKs $82M Budget, $1.5M CutsBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
12:44PM / Sunday, April 28, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The school budget is less grim than the original proposal but still requires more than $1.5 million in cuts.
On Thursday, the School Committee approved an $82.8 million spending plan for fiscal year 2025, including a city appropriation of $80.4 million and $2.4 million in Chapter 70 funds.
The cuts made to balance the budget include about 50 staff reductions — some due to the sunsetting of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds.
"The final version does not answer all needs. It will be unacceptable to some or to many but I must say that tonight's final proposal is very different than where we started when we believed
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BCC Student Discovers Rare Osprey NestBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:21PM / Saturday, April 27, 2024 | |
Danielle Lemieux was able to snap a photo of the birds to confirm it was an osprey nest. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Danielle Lemieux was on her routine commute to class at Berkshire Community College when she spied a rare sight. The ornithology student discovered the third osprey nest on record in the county. While it isn't rare for the birds of prey to be seen in the area, they typically settle in coastal regions and finding a nest is "extremely unusual," said Lemieux, whose discovery last week took her environmental science education to a new level.
"It's really exciting that we have this amazing bird nesting right in our back yards," she
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BCC Massage Therapy Program to Hold Meet and Greet' | 08:00AM / Friday, April 19, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Massage Therapy program at Berkshire Community College (BCC) will hold a "meet and greet" session on Tuesday, May 7 at 5 pm. The free event will be held on BCC's main campus, located at 1350 West Street, Pittsfield, in Room G-12. To register to attend, visit www.berkshirecc.edu/massage-therapy. Designed for prospective students or those curious about the massage therapy profession, meet and greet sessions provide a welcoming opportunity to learn about BCC's program, as well as the chance to meet faculty and learn about BCC resources. Topics will include the admissions process, prerequisites and >> Read More |
Chapter 70 Fix Adds $2.4M to Pittsfield School BudgetBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
05:29AM / Tuesday, April 16, 2024 | |
 PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Local and statewide advocacy has led to a correction in Chapter 70 funding, adding another $2.4 million in aid for fiscal year 2025. Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Kristen Behnke reported last week that the state Department of Secondary and Elementary Education has recognized 11 more low-income students in the district, bumping the district back into a higher reimbursement group. She said it is "very welcome news given this budget situation."
The School Department had missed the cut by 0.04 percent, or two students, costing the district millions in state education aid but this was found to be a technical error.
"Because
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Marchetti Announces Jazz Art Contest WinnersBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
06:22PM / Friday, April 12, 2024 | |
Brooklyn Duck is this year's winner of the contest and her work will be used for the Pittsfield City Jazz Festival. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Pittsfield High School has 75 jazzy artworks in City Hall, one of which was chosen to represent the 2024 Pittsfield City Jazz Festival.
Mayor Peter Marchetti on Thursday congratulated the winners of the annual Berkshires Jazz Student Art Contest. PHS junior Brooklyn Duck won first place followed by senior Nye Stedman and sophomore Karalin Melendez.
Duck's artwork features a colorful array of musical instruments and musicians with piano keys winding down the center. She said that she was inspired by her teacher Lisa
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Wahconah Apollonian Players Perform 'Into the Woods' this WeekendBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
01:30PM / Wednesday, April 03, 2024 | |
There some 50 students who make up the cast and technical team, including 16 from Nessacus Middle School. DALTON, Mass. — Wahconah High School Apollonian Players will be performing the musical "Into the Woods" this weekend. The show will run on Friday, April 5, at 7 p.m. and Saturday, April 6, at 1 and 7 p.m. in the school's auditorium. Tickets can be purchased in advance here or at the door for $14 for adults and $12 for students and seniors. The first act is 90 minutes and open to all ages but Act 2 contains adult content, such as adultery, death, murder, and other bad choices that may not be suitable for children age 10 and >> Read More |
BCC to Host Q and A, Keynote Address with Law Enforcement Expert| 08:00AM / Tuesday, April 02, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC)'s Department of Safety and Security, in conjunction with the Criminal Justice Department, will host a special Q & A forum with veteran law enforcement officer Dr. John M. Weinstein on Tuesday, April 9 at 12:45 pm. Later in the evening, Dr. Weinstein will deliver a keynote speech at 5 pm. Both events, which are free and open to the public, will be held on the main campus of BCC, located at 1350 West Street, Pittsfield. The Q&A session will be held in Melville Hall, Room 317, and the keynote address will be held in Koussevitzky Arts Center, Room 111. During the forum, Dr. >> Read More |
Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From CouncilBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
01:02PM / Thursday, March 28, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.
The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.
"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.
"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and,
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BCC Wins Grant for New Automatic External Defibrillator | 10:42AM / Thursday, March 28, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC) is the recipient of a $2,326 grant, funded by the Healey-Driscoll Administration, for the purchase of an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) device. The grant specifically covers a device for use inside one of BCC's security vehicles for easy access when traversing the campus. In total, the Commonwealth awarded more than $165,000 in grant funding to 58 municipalities, 13 public colleges and universities, and nine nonprofits to purchase AEDs for emergency response vehicles. The program is designed to increase access to lifesaving equipment during medical emergencies, when every second >> Read More |
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