Back to school in The Berkshires

School is back in session across Berkshire County, including at Pittsfield High School.

Stores are offering markdowns on notebooks and pencils, lines of yellow buses are making their way around the county and many parents are simply glad to have their kids out of the house.

This means one thing: school’s back in session. Over the last week or so, students from North Adams to Sheffield have gotten back into the routine of being in the classroom.

While student goals for the year might include earning an “A” – or at least passing – a difficult class, making new friends and enjoying a favorite sport or extracurricular activity, area superintendents have priorities of their own.

Strategic planning in Lenox

Superintendent Edward W. Costa II has narrowed down the priorities of Lenox Public Schools to six for the 2012-2013 school year.

“These six goals are over-arching…which will give direction to the district,” he said.

The six areas of focus for Lenox are strategic planning for the district and the community-at-large (“for unified direction, priorities and budget”), training on the new state model for educator evaluation for the administration and staff, collective bargaining (with teachers, paraprofessionals and custodians), implementing new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Massachusetts food service regulations and promoting a positive school culture.

Educational programs in Lee

Next door, Superintendent Jason P. McCandless is excited about the new course offerings at Lee Middle and High School.

“We are in year two of an expanded electives program at Lee Middle and High School, and have just kicked off the new year with greatly-expanded Advanced Placement offerings,” he said. “[There has been] a tremendous increase in the number of students enrolled in AP courses.”

At the elementary level, Dr. McCandless highlighted the “Response to Intervention” program and the way it focuses on individual student needs at Lee Elementary School.

Community input at BHRSD

In the Berkshire Hills Regional School District (encompassing Great Barrington, Stockbridge and West Stockbridge), Superintendent Peter W. Dillon cited an increased need for community input, especially in moving forward with the new high school building plans.

“We are going to focus on building stronger community relationships this year,” he said.

Dr. Dillon also said the district would take a closer look at student data in order to improve the curriculum offered.

Innovation in the CBRSD

For the Central Berkshire Regional School District (Dalton, Becket, Washington, Hinsdale, Cummington, Peru and Windsor), Superintendent William J. Cameron’s priorities include moving forward with implementing the innovation plans for Becket-Washington and Berkshire Trail elementary schools.

These plans are partly supported by grants from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE).

Developing new techniques for education is something that Dr. Cameron hopes to expand beyond CBRSD’s two “Innovation Schools.”

According to the superintendent, one priority for the district is to “investigate options for establishing or broadening rigorous academic programming throughout Central Berkshire and especially at Nessacus Regional Middle School and Wahconah Regional High School.”

Developing and implementing student and teacher assessments is also a priority for the district.

Superintendent searches for Pittsfield and SBRSD

For both Pittsfield Public Schools and the Southern Berkshire Regional School District (Alford, Egremont, Monterey, New Marlborough and Sheffield), finding new superintendents will be key.

Pittsfield is currently under the leadership of Interim Superintendent Gordon L. Noseworthy, while SBRSD Superintendent Michael J. Singleton is retiring next August.

SBRSD will also continue to look into the future of their elementary school program with the help of its community task force.

The Beacon will be following up with these districts throughout the year as they attempt to achieve their goals.

Posted by Catherine M. Krummey on September 6, 2012. Filed under Education News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry