MCLA to Recognize Outstanding Berkshire County Educators
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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts has announced the recipients of the Fifth Annual Berkshire County Educator Recognition Award.
The award, given by MCLA in collaboration with Berkshire County K-12 superintendents, was created to honor the region’s exceptional teachers. This year’s recipients will be recognized on Thursday, May 7, at 5:30 p.m. in the social hall at the MCLA Church Street Center. The event is free and open to the public.
The recipients are Glendon Chamberlin (PreK-Grade 2), a first grade teacher at Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School in the Berkshire Hills Regional School District; Jill Pompi ’89, M.Ed. ’97 (Grades 3-6), a Title I director and literary coach at C.T. Plunkett School in the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District; and Liza Barrett, M.Ed. ’98 (Grades 7-12), a middle school English teacher at Mount Greylock Regional High School in the Mount Greylock Regional School District.
“Educators play such a crucial role in our community as they guide, teach and encourage our children to be the best they can be. We are pleased to recognize the important work that this year’s award recipients do, as they use their talents and skills to engage and enlighten our youth,” said Cynthia Brown, interim president at MCLA.
Glendon Chamberlin
A teacher for 13 years, Chamberlin has taught grades 1 through 4. In his sixth year at Muddy Brook, he has served in a variety of roles, including as an officer in the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA), a union representative, as well as a member of many committees and initiatives.
Most recently, Chamberlin joined a district team to participate in the National Education Association’s project to connect innovative school districts across the nation. He is known among students, parents and teachers for his efforts to foster productive communication and enthusiasm – both inside and beyond his classroom, according to Howard “Jake” Eberwein III, Ed.D., dean of graduate and continuing education at MCLA.
Involved in a variety of projects with his students, Chamberlin enriches their experiences through activities that include the Muddy Brook Community Garden Project, Eberwein said.
Chamberlin earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and Education from UMass-Amherst.
Jill Pompi
An educator for 26 years, Pompi has taught grades 1 through 5, as well as K-5 reading and literacy skills. She has worked to integrate her teaching into the wider community by designing home-based reading activities and coordinating family events with a focus on literacy.
A professional development instructor for 17 years, Pompi is a lifelong learner who is admired by her colleagues for her energy and dedication in the classroom, as well as her passion for reading and teaching, according to Eberwein.
“They have said that every child deserves a Jill Pompi,” Eberwein said.
Pompi earned both a bachelor of arts degree in education in 1989 and her masters of education degree in 1997 from the former North Adams State College, now MCLA.
Liza Barrett
After 28 years as a middle school English teacher, Barrett finds much joy and satisfaction in helping young people appreciate and use language with precision and grace, as her contributions to the school and community are felt far beyond her own classroom, according to Eberwein.
Barrett mentors new educators and student teachers, advises a middle school leadership group, leads a creative writing club, is a basketball coach, and supervises an after-school tutoring program. She believes it is vital that every student, every year, learns and grows in her classroom, and that she does the same, Eberwein said.
Barrett holds her bachelor’s degree in English and psychology from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn. She earned her masters of education degree from MCLA in 1998.
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