greylocknews

No "silver bullet" for MGRH finances, final report concludes; Williams announces "center"

By Bill Densmore

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- There is no "silver bullet" to resolve increasingly tight budgets and gradually declining enrollment at Mount Greylock Regional High School, a one-year long-range planning group has concluded in a 14-page report made public on Tuesday. Dovetailing to one of the group's recommendations, Williams College announced it was assigning a staffer to help the the public high school and the college coordinate existing and new collaborations.

In a pointed reference, the report also suggests that Williamstown's desire to preserve open space will hamper the financial future of town services, especially the schools, unless taxpayers are willing to raise money by means other than property taxes from housing growth.  "As there is no such thing as  a free lunch, ther is no such thing as free open space," the report says. "It comes at a cost -- that of forgone income . . . the need to face more squarely that it has the tradeoff between open space and the quality of municipal services, including education."

The Long Range Financial Planning Subcommittee's final report was given to the Mount Greylock school board at an evening meeting.  (LINK TO FULL REPORT). "To those in the community who believed there were one or two silver bullets, we can now say with confidence there aren't," says part of the nine-member group's concluding report. "To those who believed there need to be frequent overrides, we say they're politically infeasible until the public believes all other avenues have been exhausted. To those wanting someone to give the school a large endowmnent, we say you stand a better chance of being hit by lightning."

The panel, including Supt. William Travis, school-board member David Archibald, former teacher Drew Gibson, and six community members, was chaired by James Kolesar, Williams College spokesman and community-relations expert.  The study compared Mount Greylock to nine other Massachusetts regional school districts, concluding that Mount Greylock's financials -- and fiscal challenges -- are fairly similar. It concludes or recommends:

• Costs will increase gradually by more than foreseable revenue, causing ongoing shortfalls "and the need for increases in revenue by overrides and/or other means. The main drivers of the deficit -- utility and health-care costs.
• Since 2000, enrollment has dropped to 623 students from 800 students. The drop is project to gradually continue, reducing state per-pupil reimbursements but not reducing fixed costs.
• The report recommends seeking new revenue or expense-reduction sources, including inter-district collaboration, more tuition-paying students from outside the two-town district, forming an alumni association (to raise gifts), look at private endowment of some faculty positions, rent out facilities, market to potential students, develop faculty-staff entrepreneurial spirit and even, "with sufficient political will" sell off some property for a one-time gain.
• If the school continues to cut faculty to balance its budget, it risks a spiral of reducing enrollments from voluntary student withdrawals. "Families would bolt, public support would evaporate, revenues would drop," teo report warns.

The report recommended more collaboration with Williams College.  As the final report was being released, Williams College announced that a "center at Mount Greylock Regional School" was being launched "with the goal of maximizing the academic value the college can provide the school."  The center will be coordinated by Kaatje White, a Williamstown resident who's husband is a Williams College development official and who is a Mount Greylock parent.

The college statement said White would coordinate the eduation collaborations that already exist between the school and college, develop new ones, and ensure the center activities focus on enhancing the school's mission.  No dollar-value of the Williams commitment was mentioned in the statement, which said the principles guiding the center would be that it: benefit all students, focus on core academic skills, accent the excitemnent of teaching and learning those skills, engage all relevant school faculty, engage as many college sutdnets, faculty and staff as possible and result on no financial burden to the high school.

Mt. Greylock among top 3% of U.S. high-schools on "college readiness," survey finds

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- US News & World Report has listed Mount Greylock Regional High School among those earning a "silver medal" in a national survey of "college readiness" of its students, judging it to be among the 500 best -- or top 3% -- of the nation's 18,000 high schools.

Supt. William Travis passed along the news in an email to parents and faculty late today. He said, "It is with great pleasure that I pass along information contained in today's on-line US News & World Report."

The online edition of the national magazine engaged a private evaluation firm to rate the nation's high schools on a variety of criteria with weightings based on things like enrollment size, minority enrollment, level of poverty, disadvantaged students to give different schools a fair shake. And it look at things like advanced-placement course participation rates, and a "college-readiness index."

The Mount Greylock report can be found at: http://www.usnews.com/listings/high-schools/massachusetts/mt_greylock_regional_high

Travis continued: "This is a real recognition of all the support provided by parents, the member communities, the staff and faculty of Mount Greylock.  Thanks to all for the consistent support.

The report states: "U.S. News & World Report -- in collaboration with School Evaluation Services, a K-12 education and data researchand analysis business that provides parents with education data on schoolmatters.com -- analyzed academic andenrollment data from more than 18,000 public high schools to find the very best across the country. These top schools were placed into gold, silver, or bronze medal categories."

The magazine's criteria for "medals":

Gold Medal -- Top 100 schools nationally based on College Readiness Index

Silver Medal -- All other schools with a college-readiness index of at least 20, but that are not in the top 100 nationally. MGRH's "readiness rank" was 49.

Bronze Medal -- Either do not offer AP, or do not achieve a college readiness index of at least 20, but successfully meet other two key performance indicator criteria.

MORE: America's Best High Schools - US News and World Report URL:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/high-schools/2007/11/29/americas-best-high-schools.html

Berkshire County students ready for two weeks of Shakespeare

(Photos courtesy of Roman Iwasiwka Photography)
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- High-school students throughout Berkshire County are readying for an annual bout of performing the bard -- the 19th Annual Fall Shakespeare Festival -- and the most famous of the British playwright's works, Romeo & Juliet, will be performed this Thursday and Friday at Mount Greylock Regional High School.

Tickets are only $5 for students and $7 for adults and organizers say there will be a cornucopia of refreshments and baked goods during each intermission. There is no Saturday performance. The Greylock show stars seniors Davy Payne as Romeo and Lizzie Fox as Juliet.

The Mount Greylock cast will also perform at 6:30 p.m. on Fri., Nov. 16 at the Founders' Theater at Shakespeare & Co. in Lenox. Other high schools in the Berkshires will join Mount Greylock students on Thurs.-Sat., Nov. 15-17, in back-to-back performances of the bard's plays at Shakespeare & Co.'s Lenox campus. Those performances are also public. For a full schedule go to the website, or call the box office at (413) 637-3353.

"The Fall Festival has a very specific aesthetic," says Libby Augarten, a Shakespeare & Co. staffer assigned to co-direct the Mount Greylock production. "We wait until auditions are over to choose a play, so we can pick the one that's just right for a particular group of students."

The process of picking the right play from Shakespeare's repertoire for each school can be painstaking, says Augarten. "The students and directors generate the work together, and the process is just as important as the finished production. We ask the students to make decisions, have opinions, take risks, be articulate about their feelings, and be themselves."

VIEW CAST/TECH LIST AS HTML   /   AS PDF
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Full disclosure: A son of this post's author has a role in the MGRHS production.

Public invited to film, photo, web, 3D tech session at MGRHS

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The representative of a new initiative at Boston University is making a presentation on Monday April 2 at Mount Greylock Regional High School on advances in the use of digital-media in filmmaking, photography, animation, game design, graphics and studio recording. The presentation by Bill Chenaille, of BU's Center for Digital Imaging Arts will give a multimedia presentation from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. that is free and open to the public.

The presentation was scheduled by Michael J. Powers, M.Ed., the instructional-technology specialist at the regional high school as part of an effort to update the community on career options in digital media. Powres can be reached at 413-458-9592 ext. 142, or home: 802-447-1754 or Michael_J_Powers@comcast.net.

MGRHS hopes for OK to tap water from Sweetwood well; school well OK, too, state will provide funds

Percholorate contamination of tap water at Mount Greylock Regional High School may be cleared up in the fall, thanks to Northern Berkshire Health Systems (NBHS).  School Committee Chairman Robert Petricca said on Monday the school has worked out an agreement in principle with the health systems to tie into the Sweetwood retirement-community wells next door. The agreement still needs to be put in writing and approved by Sweetwood's board, however. The tie-in, which Petricca thinks could be accomplished before school starts, will be financed with a $286,000 state grant. In addition, Andrew Hogeland, a member of a school committee-appointed water-solutions panel, said on Sunday a well on school land has been tested and found to have enough capacity to also serve the school. Petricca said the Sweetboard board needs to review the proposed agreement and provide its approval. A tank which is part of the proposed tie-in must be ordered by a specific date to make the opening of school and Petricca said he hopes the school board will give its approval to the plan at a scheduled Aug. 2 meeting.

READ DETAILS FROM AN EARLIER STORY BY CLICKING THE FULL STORY HERE.

MGRSD board, teachers' union appear closer on settling contract

The Mount Greylock school committee is proposing a 6% wage increase over three years for teachers at the regional high school in an offer made public on Wednesday.  This compares with the request of the Mount Greylock Faculty Association for 7.25% in a four-year contract, or an average annual wage increase of 1.81%. The school committee says its offer amounts to an average annual wage increase of 2.0%. "We are very close on most items," Committee Chairman Robert Petricca said in a statement. For more information click to the FULL STATEMENT by the school board.

EXCLUSIVE: Williams students, profs to study percholorate issue at Mount Greylock RHS

A team of faculty and students at Williams College will spend the summer trying to develop theories or facts on the sources of measured perchlorate contamination to the water supply at Mount Greylock Regional High School. The group, which includes chemistry professor David Richardson, will begin their work in mid-June.  Prof. Richardson describes the effort, and lists the other team members, in an email sent to GreylockNews.COM on Friday. You can read it by clicking HERE.   The Williams group's work has the potential to add to national dialog on perchlorate contamination of water supplies, which is an issue nationwide. The subject line of the email refers to a new research study (Download PerchlorateArticle.pdf), which found that lightning strikes to a water-storage tank in one instance was suspected to have caused a chemical reaction that can create percholorate. There is no evidence, that this has occured at Mount Greylock, but the researchers are hoping to consider a variety of hypotheses for why percholorate readings in the school's well-water system have been higher than would be expected for general background. In February, the trade journal "Waterweek" reported that a panel of National Research Council (NRC) experts has concluded that humans can safely ingest perchlorate at rates up to 0.7 micrograms per kilogram of body weight, which is more than 20 times the safe exposure rate USEPA estimated in its draft risk assessment of 2002. In a report released Jan. 10, the NRC's Committee to Assess the Health Implications of Perchlorate Ingestion found that a reference dose of 0.7 micrograms/kg "should protect the health of even the most sensitive populations."

Poets' corner -- a sampling of eighth-grade rhyme from Mount Greylock

A remarkable set of poems by 8th-grade Mount Greylock Regional High School students has just been posted as part of this week's "Beacon" newsletter for the middle school. You can read them (and other news from The Beacon -- by clicking HERE.

THE BEACON: All the goings on at Mount Greylock Regional (Middle) School

Starting this week, GreylockNews.COM will host an online version of the parent-authored Mount Greylock Beacon, the weekly news letter for the middle school at Mount Greylock Regional High School. Please send items for the next issue of The Beacon by 3:00pm Tues, 6/07/05 to debbydane@aol.com (or call 458-0168) or to Stomberg@adelphia.net

Moving up and Crossing-Over -- 8th Graders Head into their Future

Submitted Amy Moore-Powers

  The 8th Grade Reception (moving-up day) will take place on June 7th this year.  This informal reception is held in the Japanese garden and is a great way for students to meet their high school teachers.  They will hopefully learn something about next year and become more comfortable with their ability to meet the demands of high school.

The 8th Grade Crossing-Over Ceremony will take place before the picnic on June 17th.  In this Ceremony students place their wishes for high school in the Mt. Greylock Wishing Well and then symbolically cross-over the bridge to the high school.

GOOD NEWS for Middle School Teams, Advisories, Small Class Size

Submitted by Mark Piechota

Staffing in the Middle School next year will include 3 teachers for each of the core subjects of English, Social Studies, Math and Science.  We're happy to say that translates into a (core) class size of 20 for the 7th grade and 22 students in the 8th grade.  There will be teams in the Middle School next year (the configuration is still to be determined) with core teachers teaching 4 classes (currently they are teaching 5); there will be team meeting time, and Middle School morning meeting will continue.  We hope to reinstitute advisories in the Middle School as well.

This means that teachers will get to know all of their students well, and they will be able to coordinate curriculum across their disciplines. They will be able to adapt curriculum and instruction to meet student needs, and in the process, help make your children's introduction to Mount Greylock into an exciting and enriching two years.

...and the Band Plays on . . . the Graduation Band

Submitted by Lyndon Moors

After we say goodbye to our senior band members on Memorial Day, we add approximately 32 Middles School musicians to form the Graduation Band. This groups rehearses the traditional Graduation ceremony music plus a different recessional each year.  All rehearsals are during the regular Band period during the day. 

Graduation Band members are asked to meet at school by 1:30, Sunday, June 5.  Please keep in mind that traffic and parking are usually issues on Graduation Day.  The ceremony will be finished by 3:00pm.  Dress for Graduation is the same as it would be for any indoor concert. Please contact me if you have any questions. Thank you for supporting music at Mt. Greylock.

Word Street Wants Writers

Word Street is seeking submissions of fiction, poetry, personal essay, comics, black-and-white art and photography for its first literary magazine.  Students in Berkshire County between the ages of 8 and 18 are invited to submit original work on the theme "Growing Up in the World Today."  Deadline is Saturday, June 11. Students or their teachers may submit original work to Word Street, PO Box 782, Pittsfield, MA 01202 or by e-mail:  litmag@wordstreet.org  Include contact information.

  Word Street is a literary arts center providing free creative writing courses and workshops for young people ages 8 to 18.  The magazine will be edited and distributed by Word Street students. The editorial team will meet twice monthly in preparation for the magazine's release in September. Writers interested in joining the editorial team should contact Aaron Beatty: aaron@wordstreet.org.  For more info: 997-3307 or www.wordstreet.org

FUN, FUN, FUN, CELEBRATE! -- Parent Help Needed

Submitted by Amy Moore-Powers

On Friday, June 17th the middle school students will travel to Windsor Lake in North Adams for an end of the year picnic.  This is a great opportunity for us to celebrate all of the success that they have had this year and to say goodbye to the class of 2010. 

Students will be able to swim, play Frisbee, touch football, sunbathe, and play waffle ball, etc.  They will eat hamburgers and hotdogs and hopefully have a glorious time.  The field trip will be free, but students will need to pay the regular $2.50 for their lunch.  We will arrive at Windsor Lake around 10:00 a.m. and return to school in time for the 2:30 p.m. bus.

We are looking for a few parents would like to come and share the day with us to help chaperone and/or lifeguard.  If you are interested in helping out, please contact Amy Moore-Powers at 458-9582 ext. 140 or email at amoore-powers@mgrhs.org.

Surviving Your Child's Adolescence

  Sign-up for this FREE 3-part series on "Surviving Your Child's Adolescence" with Nurit Berman, MSW. Child Care of the Berkshires is sponsoring this parenting partnership program at Haskins Community Center, 210 State St, North Adams.

Three Wednesdays: Jun 8, 15, & 22, 6:30-8:00 p.m. Pre-registration is required, call:  664-4725.

Pericles on WilliNet

Relive Mt. Greylock's fall performance of Pericles from the Shakespeare & Company's Fall
Festival.  Turn on Channel 17-WilliNet, Williamstown's Community Television TONIGHT, May 26 at 8:30 and enjoy an evening of Shakespeare.  Check-out local cable access listings for next week's air-times of Pericles.

SPORTS

U-14 Girls Soccer:

    Sat, June 4, 2:30 vs Lee, away
    Sun, June 5, 4:00 vs N. Adams, away

U-14 Boys Soccer:

   Sat, May 28, 4:00 vs Lenox, away

GOINGS On

Mon, May 30:  SCHOOL CLOSED
Sun, June 5: 1:30-3:00 Graduation Band plays at   Mt. Greylock Graduation
Fri & Sat, June 10 & 11: Treasure Island,  Middle   School Musical in auditorium
Fri, June 17: Middle School Trip to Windsor Lake
Wed, June 22: LAST DAY OF SCHOOL!!!

18 more days of school !!!

Only ONE more Beacon to be published this year!

Please send items for the next issue of The Beacon by 3:00pm Tues, 6/07/05 to debbydane@aol.com (or call 458-0168) or to Stomberg@adelphia.net