Local Schools Receive Awards From Williams College

10:06AM / Wednesday, May 09, 2012Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — McCann Technical School, Mount Greylock Regional High School, and Williamstown Elementary School received the local Bicentennial Olmsted Awards for faculty development from Williams College.

Each school will receive $4,300 to fund professional and curricular development projects. The ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, May 24, on the Williams College campus.

For McCann, the award was granted to Sarah Hadley and Erin Mucci, who submitted a proposal to offer AP biology and AP literature and composition at the school. The grant money will be used for Hadley and Mucci to attend the AP Summer Institute, which prepares teachers of AP courses, and for classroom materials, which include books and other AP test prep materials.

At Mount Greylock, the award will be used to send four faculty members and one administrator to this summer's 20th annual Model Schools Conference, sponsored by the International Center for Leadership in Education. Those attending the conference are Christopher Barnes, assistant principal; Pat Blackman, middle school social studies; Lynne Jordan, wellness department; Amy Kirby, Spanish department; and Bob Thistle, high school math department.

The projects that will be funded at Williamstown Elementary School are “Flipping the Social Studies Classroom – Less Lecture and More Collaborative Learning Time,” “WES Data Team,” and “Curriculum Team.” The first project, proposed by fifth-grade teacher Rebecca Leonard, will employ the method of video lecture infused with footage to create history lessons. The data team project will expand the number of participants to better synthesize a macro/micro approach for data analysis and instructional interventions. Finally, members of the curriculum team will serve as leaders during the transition to the Common Core State Frameworks and will collaborate with the principal to plan professional development for teachers and monitor the progress of revising the school’s curriculum.

An endowment from the estates of George Olmsted, Jr. ’24 and his wife, Frances, fund the local Olmsted Awards.

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St. Stan's Students Spread Holiday Cheer at Williamstown Commons

By Jack GuerinoiBerkshires Staff
12:50PM / Sunday, December 21, 2025

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Students from St. Stanislaus Kostka School in Adams brought the holiday spirit to Williamstown Commons on Thursday, delivering handmade Christmas cards and leading residents in a community caroling session.

"It honestly means the world to us because it means the world to them," said nursing home Administrator Alex Fox on Thursday morning. "This made their days. This could have even made their weeks. It could have made their Christmas, seeing the children and interacting with the community."

Teacher Kate Mendonca said this is the first year her class has visited the facility, noting that the initiative was driven entirely by the students.

"This came from the kids. They said they wanted to create something and give back," Mendonca said. "We want our students involved in the community instead of just reading from a religion book."

Preparation for the event began in early December, with students crafting bells to accompany their singing. The handmade cards were completed last week.

"It's important for them to know that it's not just about them during Christmas," Mendonca said. "It's about everyone, for sure. I hope that they know they really helped a lot of people today and hopefully it brought joy to the residents here."

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