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Zoe Hypolite kicked off the conference with an inspiring speech to her peers.

Youth Conference Inspires Teens To Become 'Tools of Change'

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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The arts was one of the four tracks students could choose for the workshops.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Zoe Hypolite watched as Hurricane Maria devastated her home country of Dominica.
 
She knew something had to be done to help. She started fundraising.
 
"I decided that I am going to do something about it. This is why I am the head of Miss Hall's natural disaster relief group where we have raised thousands of dollars for schools of areas affected by natural disasters," Hypolite.
 
Hypolite is a student at Miss Hall's and comes from a background checkered in trauma. From nearly being blind as a child to bullied in high school to feeling suicidal, Hypolite hadn't thought she had much power in this world.
 
But that changed. At some point, she realized that if she doesn't work to make this world better, who else will?
 
 "We are the only ones who are going to take action because we are the tools for change," she told high school students from across the region on Thursday morning. 
 
She advised them to learn their voices and have confidence. She asked the students to find the things they are passionate about and fight for them.
 
"We have the power. We have the ability. We have the drive. And we have the answers. So let's go out there and show the world what we are made of because, can't you see it, change is coming," Hypolite said.
 
Hypolite's story kicked off a daylong convention when 113 students from 13 different Berkshire high schools descended on Hancock Shaker Village for a series of workshops. The annual 411 in the 413 Youth Conference brings teens together to learn things they want to learn outside of the classroom setting. The program is youth run and organized by area teens and is supported by the Berkshire United Way, Railroad Street Youth Project and the Northern Berkshire Community Coalition.
 
"One point is to get students from different schools to meet each other, delve into their passions. It is really about getting out of the classrooms and learning in a new way," Kat Toomey, coordinator of positive youth development for the Berkshire United Way, said. 
 
The high school's nominate up to 10 students to attend the conference. Interns from the various agencies work with other teens to develop a series of workshops led by area businesses and organizations. The sessions range from arts to wellness to paying for college. The lessons are much more unique than the typical high school curriculum.
 
"This is really a youth-led day," Toomey said. "It is really just about this different learning style."
 
The program is in its 12th year and was started completely by area teens. Later the nonprofits joined the effort to help coordinate professionals in the area to provide the workshops and work out logistics. 
 
This year's theme was "tools for change" and Hypolite's speech motivated the students to become those tools for change. However, the other keynote speaker for the event brought a somber, yet still motivating, story. 
 
Madison Quinn is a student at Pittsfield High School whose life was changed when she met 9-year-old Landen Palatino. Battling through tears, Quinn told the students stories of how close the two had gotten leading up to his death. Palatino lost  his fight with childhood cancer. 
 
"Childhood cancer has stolen a part of who I was and is pushing me to be who I am," Quinn said.
 
Quinn has started her own non-profit, Strong Little Souls. Through that, she raises thousands of dollars to help the families of children with cancer. When Shavez Forte died, she raised money to help cover the cost of the funeral and get him a headstone. When other teens take trips to New York City, they want to see Times Square, but she finds the nearest children's hospital. 
 
"These kids make me the happiest person I’ve ever known possible. I'd like to continue on this path forever and keep raising awareness, keep raising funds, keep raising funds to help these children," Quinn said.
 
But Quinn's story wasn't meant just to sadden the audience because the lesson she has learned is that there are plenty of people in the community who will support efforts to make change happen and that any individual has the ability to change other people's lives for the better.
 
"Each and every one of you holds the potential to change lives. Knowing changed lives is a gift that keeps on giving. Giving back to the community or an individual who needs the support, find a path to pursue it. And whatever you do, do not give up," Quinn said.
 
Following the speakers, the students took off to various parts of Hancock Shaker Village for the hour-long lessons. The students chose between different tracks - the arts, compassion in action, wellness, and adulting. 
 
"I think this conference is such an amazing opportunity for students to learn and explore new topics outside the classroom. Things like therapy, yoga, self-dense, and how to pay for college will help us a lot in the future," said Julie Xu, of Miss Hall's School who helped organize the conference. 

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Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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