Superintendent of School Joseph Curtis addresses the School Committee on Wednesday night in City Council chambers.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The School Committee on Wednesday approved an ambitious timeline that could see the city's middle school reconfiguration implemented as soon as the 2025-26 academic year.
On a vote of 6-0 with one member, Diana Belair, absent, the committee accepted the proposal of Superintendent Joseph Curtis that would see a Middle School Restructuring Committee organized later this month.
That committee would continue studying possible grade configurations, assess data on student performance and gather feedback from stakeholder groups before presenting a final recommendation on reconfiguration to the School Committee in January 2025.
If all goes according to plan, the School Committee would make its final decisions on grade spans and the educational models for the, potentially, newly configured schools in February. The administration would work out an implementation plan in March.
Before voting to agree to the timeline, School Committee members agreed with Curtis that the plan was "vigorous" and that action was sorely needed to find solutions to long-term concerns about the current middle school structure.
"I think it's brave and appropriate that we are taking on the issues around middle school," Sara Hathaway said. "This isn't something that has suddenly exploded into a problem. Middle schools around the country have this issue."
And, Hathaway said, she has seen that issue hit very close to home.
"When I served on this committee a little over 20 years ago, I remember Dr. [William] Travis saying, 'We lose [students] in middle school,' " Hathaway said.
Vice Chair Daniel Elias said that last year he visited the city's middle school classrooms at the beginning of the school year and found teachers who were upbeat and optimistic.
"I was able to go back at the end of the year, and they were, for the most part, mentally defeated," Elias said. "I thought the school leadership did a good job, and the staff, despite being defeated, felt the leadership did a good job.
"That left me with the thought that it is an unattainable goal in the current configuration. We have to do something, because what we're doing now is not working. I've gotten a lot of feedback from a lot of people. They were just relieved that we were finally taking this on."
Curtis' presentation on Wednesday walked the committee through a couple of different potential paths — from maintaining the status quo (prekindergarten through Grade 5 elementary schools, 6-8 middle schools and high school) to a five-school model with students split by PK-1, Grades 2-4, Grades 5-6, Grades 7-8 and high school.
He stressed that none of the configurations he showed the committee were his recommendation. That recommendation will come from the Middle School Restructuring Committee that the elected officials on Wednesday authorized the superintendent to create.
Curtis said that, ideally, he would like to see the committee include about 25 members who would do much of the work in smaller working groups.
Given the compressed time schedule, Curtis will be asking for a major time commitment, with the MSRC meeting, initially, at least twice a month.
"I'm envisioning … once a month will not be enough to make this decision," Curtis said. "We'd start to meet right in September. I'd predict we'd meet at least every other week. That may be accelerated toward the end."
Curtis said he will create an invitation that will be well publicized to seek volunteers to serve on the comittee. His hope is that it will include: parents, guardians and caregivers; school staff and leaders; central office officials; elected officials; and union representatives. In answer to a question from School Committee member William Garrity, Curtis said the committee could include high school students who have the recent lived experience of the city's current middle schools; either way, he said he envisions focus groups to gather feedback from current students in the city's system.
"We'd invite roughly 30 people to participate, making sure we have representation from the groups I've outlined," Curtis said. "For example, we wouldn't have 30 staff members and no families. I would hope to have even participation from the groups I've mentioned."
The School Committee members were enthusiastic in their endorsement of Curtis' proposed timeline for taking action.
Elias noted that Curtis' presentation included a mention that six Massachusetts school districts already have gone to a grade 5 and 6 configuration for their middle school; regionally, that group includes Westfield, which operates Westfield Intermediate School. He suggested that the MSRC could benefit from the lessons learned in other districts.
"Most people are content and happy with the job we do at the elementary level," Elias said. "We see now at the high school level, some kids do come back. But we're losing them at the middle school. It's well past the point of having to do something."
"You're right," Cameron told Curtis, "this is an aggressive timeline. But it's been a problem for years, and I'm glad we're finally dealing with it."
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
No Charges in Fatal Pittsfield Crash
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The driver of a pickup truck involved in a fatal accident on West Housatonic Street last May will not be charged.
According to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office, the DA has declined to file criminal charges after an investigation demonstrated that the truck driver's operation of his vehicle did not meet the legal criminal standard of negligence for charges to issue.
John Tyska, 34, was driving his dirt bike west shortly before 7 p.m. on May 25 when he collided with the driver's side passenger door of a 2022 Honda Ridgeline operated by Peter Schettini, 53, also of Pittsfield, who was traveling south on Plymouth Street.
Tyska collided with the truck after taking a fast turn from Plymouth Street onto West Housatonic Street. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigation into the fatal collision uncovered the following facts:
Prior to the collision, the dirt bike was traveling at a high speed of between 55 and 65 mph on a street with a speed limit of 40 mph.
Prior to the collision, the dirt bike operator was driving in a manner indicative of avoiding the police. This included driving through a red light on West Street at approximately 60 to 70 mph when being followed by a police car that had activated its blue lights.
The lack of reaction time of the truck driver was due to the bike's operation.
The Pittsfield Police Department was the lead law enforcement agency on the case.
While the investigations may at times seem lengthy to the public, District Attorney Timothy Shugrue said he is committed to detailed investigations that thoroughly review all facts in a case.
The School Committee on Wednesday approved an ambitious timeline that could see the city's middle school reconfiguration implemented as soon as the 2025-26 academic year.
click for more
A large limb from a 32-foot sugar maple in the park fell next to the fountain area over the weekend. Caution tape and traffic barrels now surround the aftermath.
click for more
The last estimate for construction was overly optimistic because, at the time, it was unclear how long obtaining the two easements would take, Town Manager Thomas Hutcheson said.
click for more
Full cost estimates have not been completed but based on recent repairs made to the Clapp Park splash pad, it is estimated to cost between $350,000 and $450,000.
click for more