BArT Indentified as 'High-Growth' by State

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ADAMS, Mass. – Based on data released from the state yesterday, BArT has been identified as a "high growth" school in both English language arts and math.

This label indicates that the typical student at BArT grows more than his or her academic peers across the state. BArT was the only school district in Berkshire County identified as "high growth" in both ELA and math.

Additionally:

* BArT 8th grade students were 2nd in the state for growth on the ELA exam.

* BArT 10th grade students were 11th in the state for growth on the ELA exam.

* BArT achieved the highest growth in math among the 17 districts in Berkshire County and was in the top 14% of districts statewide.

* BArT achieved the third highest growth in ELA in Berkshire County and was in the top 10 percent of districts statewide.


“This achievement is the direct result of the academic program we put in place that enables us to target instruction where students need it most,” said Benjamin Klompus, Principal. “At BArT, we have seen students at all levels of achievement grow significantly in our program. These results show we know how to meet the needs of struggling students and high achieving students.”

The state’s new measure, called the “growth model”, measures how an individual student’s growth compares to students with similar score histories across the state.

“This is a very important improvement to MCAS reporting. Now families can see how much their child has grown over the course of the year, and how effective a school is at growing the students it has,” said Julia Bowen, Executive Director.

Growth for individual students is measured by comparing the change in his or her MCAS performance from one year to the next to that of their "academic peers," other students in the state with a similar MCAS performance history. This "student growth percentile" (SGP) indicates how high or low a student's growth was as compared to their academic peers.

School and district growth reports are developed by aggregating the student growth percentiles for all students in the school or district to determine the median student growth percentile.

According to the ESE data, the median or “typical” student at Berkshire Arts & Technology Charter Public School (BArT) grew at the 61st percentile in ELA and at the 61st percentile in mathematics.
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Cheshire Town Meeting Oks Budgets, Debates Potential Prop 2 1/2 Override

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff

Moderator Carol Francesconi, left, and Anne Marie Furey were presented flowers in memory of the Rev. William Furey, their brother and husband, respectively. The town report was dedicated to him. 
CHESHIRE, Mass. — Town meeting on Monday approved all 35 articles on the annual meeting warrant, including a total spending for fiscal 2027 of more than $8.5 million. 
 
Some 77 of the town's more than 2,500 registered voters filled the Cheshire Community House meeting room, debating on a number of articles during the meeting that lasted nearly three hours
 
The town dedicated its annual report to the Rev. William David Furey, longtime pastor of First Baptist Church and more recently Berkshire Union Chapel in Lanesborough. Furey died last year at age 77.
 
His wife, Anne Marie Furey, and his sister, Town Moderator Carol Francesconi, were presented with a bouquet of flowers in tribute to him. 
 
He was an exemplary member of the community who left a lasting impression in each and every life that he touched, said Town Clerk Whitney Flynn. 
 
Voters approved several warrant articles that make up an operating budget of $3,840,314 for fiscal 2027. Of this amount, $1,642,481 is allocated for the general government budget, which was approved after clarification of a few questions.
 
One item was the administrative assistant's salary. Prior to the annual meeting, the town eliminated the executive assistant salary of $54,309 in favor of a part-time administrative assistant salary of $27,155, to reduce costs considering the financial constraint the town is in. 
 
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