The Pittsfield School Committee held its first meeting of its 2024 – 2025 term last Wednesday, January 10th.
Click here to view the agenda and packet for this meeting
Click here to view a recording of the meeting
Meeting Recap
Election of School Committee Officers
The Pittsfield School Committee elected its officers for the current term. They are:
Chair – William Cameron
Vice-Chair – Daniel Elias
Clerk – William Garrity
I am honored to be elected by my colleagues to serve as clerk of the Pittsfield School Committee and I look forward to serving in that role this term.
Overview of Winter Academic Benchmarks
The district conducts regular benchmarks to see how students are progressing academically. This year the district’s main focus is on student literacy with a mid-year goal of having “At least 70% of all students, in each school, will have typical growth, or greater, as measured by FastBridge mid-year literacy benchmark assessments.”
Superintendent Curtis presented the benchmark results and next steps for the district. His presentation is linked here. Here is an overview of the results:
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The biggest takeaway I had from this presentation is that at the elementary school level the literacy coaches funded by ESSER are working and are having an impact on student literacy and benchmark results.
The district will conduct an overview of the winter benchmark results for families on January 16th. A Zoom link to register has been sent to families via email and text message.
Acceptance of Donation
The School Committee voted to accept the following donations:
- Guardian Life – A $5,0000 donation to Herberg Middle School for purchasing instruments and supplied for their band and orchestra programs, catering family nights for students, and awards for students exhibiting school expectations.
- RBD Electronics – A donation of laptop backpacks and sleeves for any student or staff member who needs one to carry their Chromebook or laptop.
If you have any questions, concerns, or feedback about any of these topics feel free to reach out to me at my contact information below!
Upcoming Subcommittee Meetings
January 16th @ 5:30pm Personnel and Negotiations Subcommittee Meeting via Zoom – Executive session to discuss strategy in respect to collective bargaining with the United Educators of Pittsfield (Teachers Union). (Agenda)
January 17th @ 5:30pm Curriculum Subcommittee Meeting at Mercer Administration Center – Meeting to discuss the adoption of various new textbooks, programs, and new courses. (Agenda)
Upcoming Dates
January 18, 2024 – Taconic Winter Arts Night Click here for more info.
January 18, 2024 @ 6p.m. – PPS Restructuring Study Community Engagement Meeting @ Williams Elementary School
January 19, 2024 – Elementary Trimester 2 Progress Report Grades Close
January 22-February 2, 2024 – Annual Family Survey Range
Pittsfield Public Schools in the News
- Berkshire Eagle – Eagle Archives, Jan. 8, 1935: Sleigh riding to school is no novelty for Stearns students who live in country (paywall)
- Berkshire Eagle – The Pittsfield School Committee selected a new clerk, as members prepare to tackle budgets, Chromebooks and other issues in fresh term (paywall)
Recommended Education Articles to Read
- Whos of Who-cester (Tracy Novick) – The midyear budget cuts are bad, but the news on FY25 is worse
- Important bit: “For FY25, that is $40.202 billion. That’s $208 million LESS than was passed last year for the fiscal year we’re in now. It will be more than what this year’s budget is projected to be now that they’ve rolled back the bottom line, but it’s crucial to understand: it will be LESS than what we used for this year during budget deliberations.”
- Berkshire Eagle – New Pittsfield City Council says it’s ‘sending a message’ by asking Mayor Peter Marchetti for a level-funded budget (paywall)
- The New Yorker – Has School Become Optional? (paywall)
- EducationWeek – Supreme Court Declines Case on Corporal Punishment for Student With Autism (paywall)
- The New Republic – West Virginia Bill Could Ban All Transgender People from Schools
Newsletter
If you are interested in receiving weekly updates about the Pittsfield School Committee in your inbox, then sign up for my weekly newsletter here!