Teacher of the Month: Cindy ChevettBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:04PM / Saturday, August 31, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire County Head Start preschool teacher Cindy Chevett has been selected as the August Teacher of the Month. The Teacher of the Month series, in collaboration with Berkshire Community College, will run for the next nine months and will feature distinguished teachers nominated by community members. You can nominate a teacher here. To Chevett, the best part of being a teacher is seeing her students achieve even just the little things, such as writing the letter E or their name. "It is the best job ever," she says with a smile and tears in her eyes as she says, "I love seeing them >> Read More |
Community members, Families Attend Summer Camps at BCC| 12:16PM / Saturday, August 31, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Summer camps held on Berkshire Community College's (BCC) main campus include Barrington Stage Company's Kids Act! and TeensAct! camps; Berkshire Family YMCA Summer camp; United Soccer Group Summer Camp; Flying Cloud Institute's Young Women in Science camp; and the Berkshire collaborative STEAM Team camp. KidsAct!, a Barrington Stage Company (BSC) theatre program for students ages 7-11, focuses on building acting and communication skills through fun theatre games. TeensAct!, designed for ages 12-16, focuses on building performance skills through ensemble-based work, improvisation and individualized coaching. Students in both age >> Read More |
CBRSD Says Improved Reporting System Explains Increase in Student OffensesBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
01:30PM / Wednesday, August 28, 2024 | |
 DALTON, Mass. — Bullying allegations reported have increased, but that is likely due to Central Berkshire Regional School District's improved reporting system, the administration says. There was a presentation on the district's discipline and bullying data during the School Committee meeting last week. According to the presentation, the total number of student offenses in the 2023-2024 school year was 280, whereas in the 2022-2023 school year, there were only 212 student offenses. "I would have anticipated [the increase], to be perfectly honest with you, because I think our systems are better. I think our systems are more sensitive, >> Read More |
Mold Found in Wahconah High AuditoriumBy Sabrina Damms, iBerkshires Staff
05:30AM / Monday, August 26, 2024 | |
DALTON, Mass. — The Central Berkshire Regional School District is investigating what has caused penicillium, a type of mold, to grow on the walls of Wahconah Regional High School's auditorium. The district filed a claim with its insurance company and anticipated the mold would be completely remediated by the weekend. However, the auditorium will remain closed until the investigation into why the mold grew is complete, Superintendent Leslie Blake-Davis said. The mold was discovered by a staff member the week before and reported by the school's Principal Aaron Robb. The mold was "in different places" in the auditorium, but anyone would have >> Read More |
18 Degrees Recognizes Connection Program SuccessesBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
04:28PM / Sunday, August 25, 2024 | |
Stephanie Steed, CEO and president of 18 Degrees, says the program affords support for youth and young adults to navigate life's complexities. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Ten young people were recognized for overcoming adversity and achieving goals with the help of programs through 18 Degrees.
Beaming with pride after securing jobs, housing, and a better sense of self, they were given star-shaped plaques at the Berkshire Athenaeum on Friday. This was the family services agency's second annual recognition event. Participants of the Pittsfield Community Connection and West Main Connection in North Adams, programs within 18 Degrees, were nominated after reaching various
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Pittsfield Goes Back to School With Tighter Cell Phone PolicyBy Brittany Polito, iBerkshires Staff
01:13PM / Saturday, August 24, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee has tightened the district's cell phone regulations but some recognize that it may not be enough.
On Wednesday, a revised policy was passed that holds students' phones in the main office on a second infraction. By the fourth, the student is assigned Restorative In-School Education (RISE) and a caregiver must pick up the device.
A tiered cell phone policy was accepted last summer and after more than 6,300 infractions occurred in the subsequent school year, administrators went back to the drawing board.
Over the past month, teachers, families, and committee members helped inform a refined policy that interim Assistant
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BCC Theatre Program Gets at Boost With Grant | 11:15AM / Thursday, August 22, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Berkshire Community College (BCC), thanks to a federal Carl D. Perkins Grant, will install new equipment and hire a full-time faculty member this fall. The grant covers expenses for a new LED lightboard, which complements a recently upgraded mixing board. In addition, a new full-time Assistant Professor of Theatre, Jack Golden, will join BCC in the fall semester. "We are so pleased to have been awarded Perkins Grant funding for a new state-of-the-art LED lightboard, which will allow us to train students on the most up-to-date technology used in the field," said Matthew Muller, Dean of Humanities, Behavioral and Social Sciences. >> Read More |
BCC Extends One Stop Enrollment Center Hours | 10:51AM / Wednesday, August 21, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass — In preparation for the fall semester, which begins Tuesday, Sept. 3, Berkshire Community College (BCC) announces a temporary extension of One Stop Enrollment Center hours. In addition to its normal hours of 8 am – 4 pm Monday through Friday, One Stop will be open until 6 pm Monday through Thursday from Aug. 19 through Sept. 10. On Thursday, Aug. 29, Student Orientation Day, One Stop will be open until 8 pm. The One Stop Enrollment Center is a full-service operation for incoming and prospective students, who can view an admission checklist and apply, browse a course catalogue, file a financial aid form or schedule a tour without an >> Read More |
Pittsfield School Committee to Review New Cell Phone RegsBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
05:46AM / Monday, August 19, 2024 | |
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee will hold a special meeting on Wednesday to consider the appointment of a new special education director and learn about updated cell phone regulations for the district. Interim Deputy Superintendent Matthew Bishop gave the committee a preview of the new rules at its meeting last week. He said the administration had planned a meeting with the district's principals to finalize the new plan to address infractions. Under the plan presented last Wednesday, students would be subject to a five-step series of measures based on the number of times they violate the policy. The first infraction would result in the student >> Read More |
PIttsfield School Committee Endorses 'Aggressive' Timeline to Decide on Middle School ConfigurationBy Stephen Dravis, iBerkshires Staff
05:38PM / Thursday, August 15, 2024 | |
Superintendent of School Joseph Curtis addresses the School Committee on Wednesday night in City Council chambers. PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee on Wednesday approved an ambitious timeline that could see the city's middle school reconfiguration implemented as soon as the 2025-26 academic year. On a vote of 6-0 with one member, Diana Belair, absent, the committee accepted the proposal of Superintendent Joseph Curtis that would see a Middle School Restructuring Committee organized later this month. That committee would continue studying possible grade configurations, assess data on student performance and gather feedback from stakeholder groups >> Read More |
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