PITTSFIELD, Mass. — District leaders continue to push for Taconic to become a vocational school, reporting that the four-year-old facility is quickly outgrowing the secondary model.
The transition would start with Taconic only accepting Career Technical Education (CTE) students in the fall of 2023. Non-CTE students in Grades 10 through 12 would remain at the school and by the fall of 2026, the whole student body would be vocational.
"Taconic High School is growing out of its building capacity to serve all secondary students who want CTE," Assistant Superintendent for College and Career Readiness Tammy Gage said.
"Thereby reducing access to our own Pittsfield students who want to enter a vocational program, including students who would already be attending Taconic High School."
Pittsfield High would receive roughly 40 to 60 non-CTE students from the Reid Middle School district, said its retiring Principal Henry Duval. He explained that this would allow the students to have more scheduling choices and would balance the shrinking class sizes that PHS has experienced since the new Taconic opened.
Duval also reported that PHS is looking into adopting programming that is designed for non-college-bound students. Before the pandemic, PHS faculty began the process of talking about "clusters" or "pathways" for such students and plans on designing what they will look like once new Principal Maggie Esko takes over in the fall.
Various "myths" about Taconic's transition to a vocational school were addressed including concerns about enrollment, that CTE is not as academically challenged, and that it does not prepare students for college.
Taconic Principal Matthew Bishop said enrollment is the driver of the conversation.
"We said this last time, [it] was the problem we had hoped for when we envisioned this new school building," he said. "So here we are going into our fifth year of the new building and we are full."
In the last four years, the increase in just CTE students is 327 and in the coming school year's freshman class there are only 45 non-CTE students in a class of about 250.
Bishop explained that there has been a push to modify language when talking about the two kinds of pathways. When conversations first began, they were described as CTE or academic classes.
"We realized that that's not true. CTE is extremely academic, as we talked about here. A CTE student has the same basic requirements as any student in Pittsfield Public Schools," he said.
"We rewrote the graduation policy in 2014 to include Common Core, take into account what our students needed, and we really want to stress this because our non-CTE students and our CTE students have the same requirements to graduate in Pittsfield Public Schools."
He added that the point the administrators want to make is that vocational schooling does not do less and is a rigorous elective pathway that has lifelong benefits.
Gage reported that each of the school's 13 vocational programs has an articulation agreement with one of more colleges, tech schools, or apprenticeship programs and relayed information from a Berkshire Benchmarks report that showed an increase in jobs and people moving to the area.
"Our graduates are part of that promising data trend," she said.
Berkshire Benchmarks also reported that the county has more students going to two-year colleges than four-year universities.
Over the next school year, the district plans to invite parents, potential students, and community stakeholders to further discuss the change. The policy subcommittee may be consulted to examine access and equity concerns.
"We want every student to have a positive, challenging, and rewarding high school experience and we believe that both of our high schools are at a promising point in Pittsfield history," Gage said.
"One that engages all of our students, strengthens our local economy, and gives back to the community that made investments in our students."
School Committee member Sarah Hathaway shared an interaction she had with a student who was outside Taconic while she walking her dog. He told her that the only reason he goes to school is to weld.
"This is so exciting for Pittsfield," she said.
Fellow member Daniel Elias asserted that the physical plan of Pittsfield High School has to be addressed and Superintendent Joseph Curtis assured him that a full analysis of the building is part of the restructuring study.
Tags: Taconic High, vocational program,
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Pittsfield 2024 Business Wrap-Up: New Life and Closures
By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
Mayor Peter Marchetti gets ice cream cones from the reopened King Cone on Fenn Street.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — In 2024, the city's business landscape saw some shakeups, with restaurant openings and closures and some new ventures.
King Kone, a soft-serve staple, was purchased by the nonprofit Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds to be run as a workers' co-op. At the end of the 2023 season, the Barbarotta family closed the shop's order and pickup windows for the last time as they prepared to sell.
The ice cream shop had a soft opening in August, offering frozen treats on a "pay what you will" basis while employees perfected the craft.
In 2023, Roots and Dreams was allocated $179,000 to purchase the soft-serve ice cream shop at 133 Fenn St. and convert it into a worker cooperative. It owns a series of storefronts ranging from 117 to 129 Fenn St.
This model provides workers with a flat wage, revenue shares, and the opportunity to buy into the business.
There were moving trucks outside the location instead of preparations for the lunch rush. It was first reported by PCTV on its Facebook page and a call to the restaurant was answered by an employee who said the eatery had no plans to reopen.
The former Crossroads Cafe saw new life in 2024 as Bei Tempi, which is Italian for "good times." Owners Elizabeth and Richard Zucco wanted to bring back food while preserving the establishment's long-held popularity for live music.
In 2023, the Licensing Board approved a change of stock interest for Crossroads Cafe and an application from Zuke's Soups and Variety LLC, doing business as Bei Tempi, for the transfer of license, pledge of inventory, and pledge of license from C.T. Colvin Inc. doing business as Crossroads Cafe.
Bei Tempi was granted an entertainment license in June.
North Street saw a new breakfast and lunch spot when Marie's North Street Eatery and Gallery opened in the former Maria's European Delights.
Maria's European Delights closed at the end of 2022 after 15 years in business. Maria Sekowski's late husband Krzysztof "Kris" opened the store in Great Barrington in 2007, and, in 2013, it was moved to Pittsfield. The Eastern European deli was known for the smell of homemade soup, stuffed cabbage, kielbasa, and impromptu musical numbers.
New owner Neil Davis, a veteran entrepreneur, has kept an office in the historic Shipton building for about 10 years and Marie was a formal administrative assistant before they went into business together. He also owns a shredding business in California and has other startup ventures.
When Maria's closed, he saw an opportunity in the space and a way to connect with the community and purchased the business in February of 2023.
The space had been formerly occupied by Berkshire Palate, a farm-to-table eatery, which opened its second location in the Hotel on North in 2021. Around the same time, its owners opened 413 Bistro in the previously shuttered restaurant attached to the Holiday Inn on Main Street in North Adams.
Unfortunately, not all city eateries made it to 2025.
Attorney Bill Martin said there is a "really bad relationship" with the holder of The A's liquor license — with owners struggling to even get in contact. A few years ago, the former tenants went out of business and now, he said the GEAA is facing a worse situation with the latest tenants.
He said there are unpaid vendors, amounting to "tens of thousands of dollars worth of obligations that we're probably going to have to clear in connection with an application" for a liquor license transfer.
According to The A's Facebook, the restaurant appears to have been closed since late summer.
Pittsfield also saw a new plant shop and liquor store/Latin market.
Owners Emilee Yawn and Bonnie Marks opened the original location on historic Eagle Street in North Adams in 2020. Within two years, the shop outgrew the Eagle Street storefront and moved to a larger location on Main Street.
They offer classes and workshops, residential and commercial plant care, and sell various plants and related merchandise. They also offer personal and cleaning products that are green, sustainable, and refillable.
It features authentic Latin food from several countries, including Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru.?
The owner Frank Goncalves would drive by the building every day and see the rough condition it was in. He made it into an opportunity to make the area look better and more welcoming.
Prior to the opening of the market, the Hispanic, South American, and Central American communities had to drive an hour or longer to get authentic Latin food, Goncalves said.
Independent Connections officially unveiled its Massachusetts branch on Fenn Street in March with a ribbon cutting. The IT solutions company's specializations include consulting, cloud computing, and cybersecurity.
"We're focused on serving local businesses with state-of-the-art technology while providing superior customer service," CEO Christa Proper said. "And Indy's presence in Pittsfield will help keep jobs here, and continue to attract talent to this area."
The building, formerly occupied by Alliance Appliance for more than 40 years, underwent a makeover after it was purchased by the company last year. Proper explained that it was an "employee collaboration," with staff members assisting in ripping out carpet, cutting bushes, cleaning windows, and painting.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren meets with local entrepreneurs Destiny Saunders, Jocelyn Guelce, Desean Scales and Ludwig Jean-Louis, who all received support through the Berkshire Black Economic Council.
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren was in the city in July to talk small business opportunities and met with four local entrepreneurs who have received assistance, advice and promotion through the council's programs.
The Berkshire Black Economic Council's work to support and attract new small businesses to the gateway city got boost with $455,000 secured by Warren in 2023's appropriations package.
"I'm here to celebrate partnership because I really do believe that we have the pieces right, every part of it then starts to work better," Warren said. "And of course, I'm also here to celebrate being able to put nearly half a million dollars into funding this effort, and the work that is being done here to make sure that small businesses, that Black-owned small businesses, are not at a competitive disadvantage."
Jonathan Butler was recognized for a decade of leadership at 1Berkshire's annual meeting, held at Barrington Stage.
When Butler joined the organization in 2014, he was executive director of the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce. He then navigated the 2016 merging of the chamber, Berkshire Economic Development Corp., Berkshire Business Bureau, and Berkshire Creative into the 1Berkshire that is known today.
While serving the entire county, 1Berkshire has had its strongest impact in Pittsfield, where it is headquartered. The organization has sold its property at 66 Allen St. after 12 years and will move to the second floor of Crawford Square on North Street.
A few businesses with locations in Pittsfield announced closures in 2024.
Designer and entrepreneur Annie Selke started with a bedding and sleep items business in 1994 as Pine Cone Hill. The largely wholesale home decor operation added Potluck Studios dinnerware in 2002 and Dash & Albert Rugs in 2003.
She invested nearly $4 million into the former Interprint mill on Peck's Road that dates to the 1860s and moved in 2007. The company was purchased by Rugs USA in 2023.
In the fall, signs appeared on Staples' front window in Berkshire Crossing indicating that it would close on Dec. 13. Then Big Lots announced in December that it would liquidate its assets after a purchase agreement with a competitor fell through.
"We all have worked extremely hard and have taken every step to complete a going concern sale," Bruce Thorn, Big Lots' president and CEO, said in the announcement.
"While we remain hopeful that we can close an alternative going concern transaction, in order to protect the value of the Big Lots estate, we have made the difficult decision to begin the GOB process."
The closeout retailer moved into the former Price Rite Marketplace on Dalton Avenue in 2021. The grocery had been in what was originally the Big N for 14 years before closing eight months after a million-dollar remodel. Big Lots had previously been in the Allendale Shopping Center.
Big Lots filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September. It operated nearly 1,400 stores nationwide but began closing more than 300 by August with plans for another 250 by January. The Pittsfield location had not been among the early closures.
Advanced Auto Parts, with three locations in the Berkshires, is also closing 500 stores and 200 independently owned locations by about June. The North Adams store has had a "going out of business" for weeks and one of the Pittsfield stores is also slated for closure.
The Public Safety Advisory Committee has ranked four properties to consider during its feasibility study on locations for a new police station. Three have existing structures and one is a vacant lot. click for more
During the event, Pittsfield Bureau Chief Brittany Polito will ask the four Select Board candidates questions curated from voter submissions.
click for more
Officials approved a third-party investigation on alleged staff misconduct at Pittsfield High School that's expected to wrap up by March. click for more
