greylocknews

MGRHS school garden yields evening's hors d'oeuvres

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- Marti Packer, left, and his daughter, Mount Greylock Regional High School junior, Rebekeh, serve up three varieties of potato salad culled from potatoes grown in the school's new community garden, begun by students in the spring. The were at the school 's parents' night on Tuesday.

 

Teachers' union threatens to go to court to block release of $50K teacher settlement records

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The Massachusetts Teachers Union (MTA) threatened court action on Friday and requested that school officials delay release of records about a supposed $50,000 payment in 2009 to a former teacher, characterizing the request as involving a "personnel action." The union is asking that the town seek guidance from the state before their release.  The town agreed when it signed the agreement not to discuss or communicate about its terms "except as required by law."

EARLIER STORY

(All mentioned documents at: http://www.newshare.com/openrecords.pdf )

In a May 7 letter to Joel B. Bard, Williamstown's Boston-based legal counsel, MTA attorney Ira C. Fader writes that although the Massachusetts Open Records Act requires release of public records within 10 days of a request, "the town would not be in violation of its obligations by requesting an opinion of the Supervisor of Public Records regarding its obligation in these circumstances." The letter was provided to this blog by the school.

Fader's letter proposes that "rather than have to seek a temporary restraining order from a court on Monday, I am certain we can accommodate the interests of the town, the school district, the association and the individual through a mutual and timely discussion."

A staffer at the MTA office in Boston said at 4:15 p.m. on Friday that Fader was at the annual meeting of the MTA, the state's largest teachers union. She said she would leave a message for him to call. Mr. Bard, the town lawyer, relayed a message through a staffer in his Boston law office that he would not speak to this blogger, referring inquiries to town officlals.

An official at the Williamstown Public Schools said the school district, Lynn Sadlowski, noted that the school district, under the state Open Records Act, has 10 days from receipt of a document request to comply. She said the district had not made any decision about how to react to the MTA's letter. The MTA attorney said he had received a letter from the town "concerning your intention to release certain documents on MOnday, May 10 . . . . "

In a letter dated May 6, school Supt. Rose P. Ellis advised in a letter to William P. Densmore Jr., the citizen who requested the documents: "We expect this review will be completed within the statutory response time of ten days, on or before May 14th. My office is in the process of segregating the requested documents from our extensive files and redacting information that is related to personnel or contains specific names. Furthermore, we have a contractual agreement to contact staff at the Williamstown Educational Association within five days prior notice of disclosure."  The association is a local unit of the MTA.

Williamstown school working to release public records after request about puported $50K settlement

UPDATED STORY: Union threatens court action to block records' release

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. -- The chairman of the Williamstown elementary school committee has responded to a Massachusetts Open Records Act request for public documents and says the school administration is working to comply.  The request, filed by local resident (and GreylockNews.com blogger) Bill Densmore, seeks information about whether the school board entered into an agreement in 2009 with a former school employee that ended a complaint the employee had brought.

Town resident Fred Leber, who is running for Town Moderator in Tuesday's annual town election against Mark Gold, said he had raised the issue in discussions and emails with town officials. Leber says he is concerned that the cost of the alleged settlement agreement -- he says he has heard from school sources it was $50,000 -- might not have been reflected in budget or other financial documents seen by Williamstown Finance Committee. The FinCom is appointed by the town moderator.

For source email exchanges, and a link to the open-records act request submitted by this blogger, click on this link.

MCLA Students Join Forces with MassPIRG

NORTH ADAMS, MA—Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts students and the Massachusetts Public Interest Research Group (MassPIRG) co-sponsored daily events on campus throughout the fall semester to raise awareness about hunger and homelessness.

MassPIRG held a sock drive, during which students purchased socks, mittens, and hats for $1 to donate to the Louison House, a regional homeless and transitional shelter. Students also hosted a Hunger Banquet, during which students and members of the public played roles to experience various levels of poverty.

“The goal is to show that poverty does exist, but there are ways to change it,” said Melissa Bruhn, the MassPIRG organizer at MCLA.

The College also invited Louison House Director Paul Gadge to speak with students about poverty.
MCLA students volunteered with the Berkshire Food Project to prepare a free Thanksgiving dinner for the North Adams community. Several surrounding restaurants donated food for the meal.
The Zombie Walk for Hunger on Halloween, where students dressed as zombies and walked around North Adams as part of MassPIRG’s campaign against Hunger and Homelessness, was the organization’s largest event during the fall semester.

“The students who came were very enthusiastic,” said Bruhn.

Public Interest Research Groups are independent statewide student organizations that work on a variety of issues.  MassPIRG volunteers devote much of their time at MCLA to hunger and homelessness and zero-waste efforts.

Northern Berkshire Basic Education Program Welcomes New Students

NORTH ADAMS, MA-The Northern Berkshire Adult Basic Education Program welcomes new students for free classes beginning in January.

The program offers the following courses: GED Preparation, Pre-College Skills, English for Speakers of Other Languages, and Basic Skills.  

The Basic Computer Skills class is available to all students enrolled in at least one other class.

New courses include Next Steps, a class to help students plan for post-secondary education and career goals; and GED Fast Track, a 12-week test preparation course.

All classes, books, and materials are free for enrolled students.

Day and evening classes begin the weeks of January 4 and 11. Classes are held at three locations in Northern Berkshire County: the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Freel Library in North Adams, CT Plunkett School in Adams, and the Milne Public Library in Williamstown.

For more information or to schedule an enrollment meeting call (413) 662-5314. Enrollment continues throughout the school year.

MCLA Professor Writes New Textbook for Educators

NORTH ADAMS, MA—Pearson Higher Education recently published Strategies and Lessons for Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Primer for K-12 Teachers by Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Education Professor Roselle K. Chartock.

The textbook, which draws on Dr. Chartock’s 43 years of experience as a high school teacher and college professor, helps educators talk to young people about diversity, social justice, and building community.

“There is a fear of difference in our society, and I think education is the only way you can get across the realities that those fears are really unwarranted,” she says.

Strategies and Lessons for Culturally Responsive Teaching includes 40 lesson plans on diversity, building community, teaching students who speak English as a second language, honoring students’ cultural backgrounds, and other subjects.

For example, says Dr. Chartock, social justice themes can be added to a math lesson by examining the percentages of ethnic groups in a city. She worked on the book for four years.

“This is an important book, and it showcases Roselle’s passion for culturally responsive~teaching and her experience as an educator,” says Dr. Cynthia Brown, vice president for Academic Affairs at MCLA. “She is a distinguished member of our faculty and community, as well as an active
researcher and scholar.”

Before joining the faculty at MCLA 23 years ago, Dr. Chartock was a teacher at Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington.  She says teachers sometimes see students from another culture as a challenge in the classroom rather than an opportunity.

“It’s a very complex topic,” she says, but it often comes down to how teachers relate to their students.

In her classes at MCLA, for example, Dr. Chartock gives her students questionnaires so she can better understand their academic needs. “I feel like I know them, not only to learn their names but to connect,” she says. “Students talk about their interests and their classmates see them as individuals. Students respond to that.”

The book also helps educators become aware of their own prejudices and attitudes and offers different perspectives.

“We can change attitudes,” she says. “If you can change the thinking early, you can have the population that realizes how destructive prejudice is.”

Dr. Chartock says educators need to respects students’ commonalities and differences with regard to language, gender, ability, and culture.

“Every teacher should teach in a way that recognizes those contradictions,” she says. “When they teach with a one-size-fits-all attitude, they’re not doing their job.”

Each chapter of Strategies and Lessons for Culturally Responsive Teaching includes art by people with disabilities who participate in the Community Access to the Arts (CATA) program in Great Barrington.

“There are not a lot of books like this, and I know it will play an important role in helping educators and their students succeed in today’s complex classrooms,” says Dr. Ellen Barber, chair of the Education Department at MCLA. “The whole department is very excited to read and use
this work.”

Strategies and Lessons for Culturally Responsive Teaching is Dr. Chartock’s third book. She is currently doing research for her next book, a study of the former Windsor Mountain School in Lenox, a pioneering multicultural boarding school.

Dr. Chartock grew up in Hudson, NY, and earned her undergraduate degree from Skidmore College, her master’s degree from Hunter College, and her doctorate from the University of Massachusetts.

MCLA Receives Architectural Award for Berkshire Towers

NORTH ADAMS, MA- Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) was honored recently by the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety Architectural Access Board and the Boston Society of Architects for the renovations of the Berkshire Towers dormitory. In recognition of the building's improved accessibility, the College received the Public Architecture Honor Award during a ceremony at the State House.

Berkshire Towers, first built in 1973, began undergoing renovations in 2008. The brick towers now have a street-level entrance with an elevator to the main lobby. The old design had residents and guests enter on the second floor, using an exterior ramp.

Other additions to the space include a pull-off area for vehicles in front of the building, a kitchenette, new meeting and multi-purpose rooms, a new front desk, and a new laundry room and lounge space.
"It's an honor for the College to have a building project that's been recognized by the state," said Diane Manning, director of Residential Programs at MCLA. "It's nice knowing that we have a facility welcoming to all... It's really important to make sure buildings are accessible to all members of the MCLA community.
"The building was so lacking in any public space, and it's so heart-warming to see the students in the meeting and multi-purpose rooms," she added. "It's such an improvement to the quality of life of the
students in general."

The Berkshire Towers renovation project was designed by Kuhn Riddle Architects of Amherst.
The Massachusetts State College Building Authority funded the construction project through a $4 million bond. For more information on MCLA visit www.mcla.edu.

MCLA hosts Graduate School Fair November 4

NORTH ADAMS, MA—The Career Services Center at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) hosts its annual Graduate School Fair Wednesday, November 4, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in Murdock Hall, Room 218.

In addition to MCLA, representatives from the following colleges and universities will be on hand:~ Assumption College, Suffolk University, Simmons College, Salem State College, Ross University School of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Union Institute and University, American University of Antigua College of Medicine, Fitchburg State College, Sage Graduate School, Western New England College School of Law, The Graduate School At Bay Path College, Southern New Hampshire University, Springfield College, Antioch University New England Graduate School, Westfield State College, and Bridgewater State College.

These institutions offer graduate programs in social work, business administration, communications, criminal justice, education, special education, psychology, public administration, English, sports medicine, environmental studies, medicine, and veterinary medicine, among other disciplines.

The Graduate School Fair is open to the public. For more information contact Sharron Zavattaro, director of the MCLA Career Services Center, at
(413) 662-5332 or email szavattaro@mcla.edu.

Owens Corning Executive Delivers Vadnais Lecture at MCLA

NORTH ADAMS, MA—Owens Corning Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Frank O’Brien-Bernini will present the annual Elizabeth and Lawrence Vadnais Environmental Issues Lecture at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Thursday, October 22 at 7 p.m. in the Sammer-Dennis Room of Murdock Hall on campus. The lecture is free and open to the public.

O’Brien-Bernini, an alumnus of MCLA, oversees global accountability for Owens Corning’s corporate sustainability strategy development and execution, driving value creation inside the continuous balance of economic growth, social progress, and environmental stewardship. Owens Corning is a world leader in building materials and composite systems and solutions. The company’s global sustainability business and communication strategy, “Pink-is-Green,” is specifically aimed at greening operations and products and accelerating energy efficiency improvements in the built environment.

With more than 25 years experience, O’Brien-Bernini has held various leadership positions across the company, including vice president and chief research and development officer. O’Brien-Bernini’s contributions to sustainability, as well as his engaging depth and breadth on this subject, have made him a frequent guest speaker at major energy forums, global executive and industry conferences, and a regular media spokesperson on the topics of global sustainability, winning-with-green, and energy efficiency. He has addressed conferences organized by The Economist, Forbes, the American Wind Energy Association and The World Bank. He has also appeared on the Discovery Channel’s Planet Green program. He is on the Board of Trustees of the National Association of Home Builders’ National Council of the Housing Industry, the Board of Advisors of the Center for Multifunctional Polymer Nanomaterials and Devices, and the Ohio Biopolymers Innovation Center. O’Brien-Bernini earned a bachelor's degree in science and a master's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts, where his research focus was solar energy.

The annual MCLA Elizabeth and Lawrence Vadnais Environmental Issues Lecture series is named for Professor Lawrence H. Vadnais and his wife Elizabeth Vadnais. Thanks to the support of many alumni and friends, the Vadnais Fund at MCLA has been officially endowed and will support an annual lecture in perpetuity. The deep commitment of Betty and Larry Vadnais to the environment and to the work and study that advances the goal of a cleaner, healthier, and more sustainable world has been seminally important. The MCLA community is honored to have their legacy at the College represented by this important series. This lecture continues to host experts in the environmental field to share ideas, and identify solutions to some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information on the O’Brien-Bernini lecture October 22 call (413) 662-5185.

MCLA Alumni Association Presents Awards

NORTH ADAMS, MA—The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Alumni Association will hold the annual Alumni Award ceremony Saturday, October 24, at 11 a.m. in the Sammer-Dennis Room of Murdock Hall on campus. 

This event recognizes the achievements of graduates of the College by presenting the following awards:  the Distinguished Alumni Award, the Award for Outstanding Service to MCLA, and the Humanitarian Award.

The 2009 Distinguished Alumni Award will be given to Steven J. Ryder ’82 of Keene, NH.
He graduated from the College with a degree in business administration and accounting. 
Ryder owns two businesses, True North Networks in New Hampshire and Tree Nut Company, which was founded by Ryder, his wife Lucy, and their 9-year-old daughter Lauren. 
He credits the College for instilling in him the entrepreneurial spirit.

“While at the College, I was encouraged to become active and take risks,”
he says. “North Adams State gave me a flavor of the real world rather than just theory in the classroom.”

Ryder is the president of Stonewall Farm Board.  Stonewall is a non-profit, member-supported educational facility and working dairy located in Keene. 

The Board offers a wide variety of programs, workshops and special events to the public throughout the year.  He pursues philanthropic ventures in his local community as well as in El Salvador and Ecuador and volunteers with Rotary building houses.  This has expanded to include technology improvements in several schools. 

The Alumni Award for Outstanding Service to Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts will be given to Janice G. Messer, MCLA executive director of Alumni Relations and Development.
Messer began her career with the College in 1994.  She works closely with alumni to cultivate, solicit and steward greater alumni involvement.  Her accomplishments include building a stronger Alumni Board, creating more alumni regional groups, and development of the alumni major gift society. Messer also worked closely with the Board to re-vamp bylaws and helped make the Board more aware of the need for involvement in fundraising.

She earned a bachelor’s degree speech and English at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia and attended Adelphi University, where she pursued a degree in theatre. She earned a master’s degree in organization and management from Antioch University New England. Messer was president of the Board of Directors for the Contemporary Artists’ Center in North Adams and was a 17-year Trustee for the Bennington Museum in Vermont. She also served as a board member and chair of the American Red Cross, Green Mountain chapter, and as a member of the Parish Council of St. Francis De Sales Church, Bennington.  She is originally from Wilmington, DE.  She lives in Adams with her husband Robert Messer. They have seven children and 17 grandchildren.

The Alumni Humanitarian Award will be given to Oscar Lanza-Galindo ’01 of Greenfield.
Oscar graduated cum laude with a dual degree in English and philosophy.  
He was a Spanish language instructor, using the power of language and media to call attention to issues of social justice. He worked in the adult education programs at several colleges, including Westfield State and the School for International Training located in Brattleboro, VT, where he earned his master’s degree in intercultural service, leadership and management in 2007.
He dedicates his spare time translating a film from English to Spanish made by Alaskan Native villages along the Yukon River.  Lanza-Galindo is a program associate at the Center for Community Engagement at Amherst College. 

In addition, he is regularly called upon by Native American organizations to translate. 
Last year he lent his translating skills to Spanish speaking indigenous representatives during their time at the United Nations Permanent Forum on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. 
He is completing a second master’s degree in library and information sciences through the University of Arizona. He also served on the Board for the Center for New Americans. 
Lanza-Galindo lives in Greenfield with his wife Jamie Arsenault ’00.

The Alumni Award ceremony October 24 is open to the public.  For information or to purchase tickets, call the MCLA Alumni Office at 888-677-6252 or send a check for $32, to MCLA Foundation, 375 Church Street, North Adams, MA 01247.