Miss Hall's School Appoints Two Administrators

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Christine Higuera

Thomas M.S. Wheelock

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Miss Hall's School appointed two senior administrators to start the 2013-2014 academic year.
 
Pittsfield resident Christie Higuera, who has held many roles at MHS since joining the school in 2002, has been named dean of students, while Williamstown resident Thomas M.S. Wheelock has been named interim dean of academics and faculty.
 
In her new position, Higuera oversees all aspects of the student life program, including leadership development, residential life, advising and advocacy, and the continued advancement of the MHS Student Life Curriculum. Higuera previously served three years as assistant dean of students, from 2008 until 2010 as dean of student programs, from 2002 to 2008 as assistant to the academic program and assistant head of school. She has also held positions in the athletics department, including assistant director of athletics, varsity soccer coach and varsity basketball coach.
 
Higuera holds a Bachelor of Science in communications from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
 
Wheelock joins Miss Hall's from the Oregon Episcopal School, in Portland, Ore., where he served as academic dean and English teacher from 2008 to 2012. Wheelock began his career in 1981, teaching English and history at the Haverford School in Haverford, Pa., before serving as director of college counseling. He has also held administrative and teaching posts at the Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School in St. Louis, Miss.; The Altamont School, in Birmingham, Ala., where he was head of school; and St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie, La. 
 
Wheelock holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Pennsylvania and an Master of Arts in English from Carnegie Mellon University (Pa.).
 
In their new positions, Higuera and Wheelock also join the Miss Hall's School Senior Council, the senior management team that meets regularly to exchange information, set policy, advise the head of school and anticipate future needs.
 
"I am pleased to welcome these two seasoned administrators," said MHS Interim Head of School Mary H. Grant. "With her institutional knowledge and relationships with the students, Christie has certainly hit the ground running. Tom brings a wealth of administrative and classroom experience that will serve us well. I look forward to a strong year with both of these team members."
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Pittsfield School Committee Votes to Close Morningside

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — There were tears as the School Committee on Wednesday voted to close Morningside Community School at the end of the school year. 

Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said the purpose of considering the closure is to fulfill the district's obligation to ensure every student has access to a learning environment that best supports academic growth and achievement, school climate, equitable access to resources, and long-term success. 

"While fiscal implications are included, the7 closure of the school is fundamentally driven by the student performance, their learning conditions, the building inadequacy, and equitable student access, rather than the district's budget," she said. 

"…The goal is not to save money. The goal is to reinvest that money to make change, specifically for our Morningside students, and then for the whole school building, as a whole." 

Over the last month or so, the district has considered whether to retire the open concept, community school at the end of the school year. 

Morningside, built in the 1970s, currently serves 374 students in grades prekindergarten through Grade 5, including a student population with 88.2 percent high-needs, 80.5 percent low-income, and 24.3 percent English learners.  Its students will be reassigned to Allendale, Capeless, Egremont, and Williams elementary schools.

The school is designated as "Requiring Assistance or Intervention," with a 2025 accountability percentile of seventh, despite moderate progress over the past three years, and benchmark data continues to show urgent literacy concerns in several grades. 

School Committee member and former Morningside student Sarah Muil, through tears, made the motion to approve the school's retirement at the end of this school year.  

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