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Martin McEvoy is the new principal at Gabriel Abbott Memorial School. He has held a number of administrative positions at schools in the Berkshires.

Abbott Memorial School Welcomes New Principal

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
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FLORIDA, Mass. — New Principal Martin McEvoy is happy to be part of the Abbott Memorial School and Florida community.
 
"It is a great place, and I am really happy to be here," McEvoy said. "... I am excited to be part of this community, and I hope to be here for a long time."
 
McEvoy, who started July 1, replaced longtime Principal Heidi Dugal, who retired at the end of the school year.
 
McEvoy was most recently superintendent in Hatfield for a year and had been principal of Lanesborough Elementary School and of Herberg Middle School in Pittsfield, and vice principal at Hoosac Valley High School in Cheshire.
 
McEvoy said he was drawn to Abbott Memorial because he wanted to get back to his roots.
 
"I really wanted to get back in a setting where I could be part of the fabric of a school and in the building, working with the teachers and the kids," he said. "I think that is something my career was starting to move away from, and I am glad I was able to remind myself why I got into education and what is important to me."
 
McEvoy said Abbott Memorial was the perfect size school — it serves about 80 students in Grades K-8 —and it would allow him to interact with every student and every teacher. He said he is happy that the tight-knit community has accepted him.
 
"It is a small family atmosphere, and I feel like that they are accepting me into the family," he said. 
 
School started with a half-day last Wednesday and McEvoy said it was good to see kids back in the building. 
 
"What was really striking was how happy the kids seemed to be and how happy the teachers were," McEvoy said. "It was a really great atmosphere and really great environment. The students are happy to be back."
 
He said the day was made even more special with the annual first day of school ice cream truck visit sponsored by the PTG.
 
"That put a smile on their faces," he said.
 
McEvoy said he is impressed by the school and doesn't see much he would change. He said any improvements he would make would be done holistically by working with teachers and other stakeholders.
 
"I think things are running on all cylinders and, of course, there are always places where you can look at things and see how you can make them even better," he said. "But I am not going to come in and make sweeping changes. I like to look, listen, and learn, and things that are working we will leave alone. Things that we can make better, I want to work collaboratively."
 
McEvoy also commented on Florida itself and the important space the school fills in the community.
 
"I really appreciate how much this town really cares about the school. It is very important to them, and they are always willing to support it," he said. "They always want to know how they can help, and I want to be able to do the same."
 
He said he wants to continue the community outreach Dugal supported throughout her tenure. He added he wanted the school to continue to be the hub of the town and community.
 
"I want to be helpful in any way we can and be a value to the town even if you do not have kids in the school," he said. 
 
McEvoy acknowledged the challenges COVID-19 is sure to impose on this school year but noted last year Abbott Memorial School kept in-person learning ticking along, except for a five-day spell.
 
"They were open every possible day they could be. So I am looking forward to working with a staff with that kind of commitment," he said. "To the community who entrust us with their children know that safety is first, but we know the importance of in-person schooling."
 

Tags: Gabriel Abbott School,   principal,   

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North Adams Council Gets Update on Youth Commission, OKs Police Grant

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The revived Youth Commission is hoping to be more proactive in focusing on the needs of the city's younger population. 
 
"Our current focuses at the moment are to reset our mission statements, from the last in statement of the Youth Mission, which was simply more of a reactive board, to when City Council needed approval and advisement on youth-related legislation," the commission's co-Chair Vane Jacobs told the councilors at their Tuesday meeting. "Our goal, coming back into the commission, is to become a proactive board with the goal to advance infrastructure and activities for the youth of North Adams and Northern Berkshire."
 
Jacobs, the youth co-chair, had been asked to present information on the objectives of the commission by Mayor Jennifer Macksey, who did not attend the meeting. 
 
The long-dormant commission was resurrected last year, with its organizational meeting held in July. Jacobs was voted as the youth chair and Cody Chamberlain, a member of the School Committee, as the adult chair. 
 
The commission was first established in 2010 and updated 2021 as a way for the city's youth to communicate with and advise the City Council and mayor. It consists of nine voting members, of which six must be between the ages of 13 and 22, and three adults. They are appointed by the mayor with approval of the council. 
 
"We are trying our best to focus on the future, instead of staying on the past and the present," said Jacobs. "The duty of the adult members to assist the youth members on the political buzzwords and the political environment, even at such a small scale."
 
The commission is working on grant writing to access some opportunities and activities for the city's youth, especially during the summer months. 
 
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