CBRSD deliberates baseball donation

DALTON – The school committee of the Central Berkshire Regional School District spent a lengthy period of time at a recent meeting debating the necessity of a donation of money for supplies to improve the Wahconah Regional High School baseball field.

A group of Wahconah parents donated approximately $9,000 for the supplies, and the group also plans on making the improvements themselves.

“These parents have been generous with their money and generous with their time,” said CBRSD Superintendent William J. Cameron.

Several school committee members thought the responsibility of improving the field is the district’s, not the parents’.

“These are materials we should be supplying,” School Committee Member John B. Conner said.

Despite the objections, the school committee approved the donation.

“The parents are taking the bull by the horns,” said School Committee Member Richard M. Farley, who later added the parents were making improvements to the field exceeding the district’s usual maintenance.

Reading program presentation

Lori Adriance, a reading teacher at Nessacus Regional Middle School, gave a presentation to the school committee on the Tier II reading program implemented at the school two years ago.

“Somewhere along the way they miss some things,” she said of her students. “I have to plug those holes.”

In the program, sixth graders learn to use graphic organizers to put their thoughts together, seventh graders add on to that with a six-step process for reading and writing, and eighth graders learn to use those skills to write reports in other subjects, including science and social studies.

Since the program began, Ms. Adriance reported a 69 percent increase in fluency amongst her students and a 90 percent increase in comprehension.

“Numbers will change, needs will change, and we’ll be ready,” she said.

MCAS results

Assistant Superintendent Robert R. Putnam also gave a presentation on the district’s MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) results. Schools are ranked on a level system (one the highest, five the lowest) as a result of their MCAS scores.

In the CBRSD, Becket-Washington and Wahconah were named level one, while Berkshire Trail, Craneville, Kittredge and Nessacus were all named level two.

For more on the MCAS results for Berkshire County see “A closer look at MCAS results.”

Posted by Catherine M. Krummey on October 4, 2012. Filed under Education News,News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry