Mount Greylock Principal Mary MacDonald emphasized the school's diverse academic program and the success of its students at Wednesday's forum.

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — Mount Greylock officials on Wednesday made their pitch to Lanesborough residents being courted by a neighboring school district.

 

In a nearly hourlong presentation in the Lanesborough Elementary School cafeteria, Mount Greylock's superintendent, principal, assistant principal and director of pupil services explained the things that they say make Mount Greylock a school worth preserving.

 

"What attracted me to Mount Greylock was, first, its reputation," said Doug Dias, who was hired as superintendent of the Lanesborough-Williamstown "Tri District" earlier this year. "I've been principal of a high school for eight years. I knew what to look for when I looked for a high quality, academically focused high school.

 

"Every time I looked, I found things that made me want to come to this area, to move from where I was in eastern Mass to come to Mount Greylock."

 

Principal Mary MacDonald did the bulk of the presentation, emphasizing the wide variety of course offerings at the junior-senior high school.

 

"We have traditional science as well as electives," MacDonald said. "We have hands-on anatomy and physiology classes. We have a business program. It's a small business program but we have courses meeting the needs and requests of students. We have computer technology. We also, of course, have our wellness program and our math program.

 

"Rigor and relevance are our two top words. We want students to be challenged in ways that will meet their needs and push them beyond."

 

MacDonald pointed out that Mount Greylock's open enrollment policy allows students to enroll in Advanced Placement, honors or college prep classes, depending on their interest.

 

"When you have different programs like that, people think you're on a track," she said. "It's not like that at all. I'm intrigued when I look at students' schedules and they have college prep for one class and honors for another and AP for another because they really want to push themselves."

 

And Mount Greylock's educational philosophy produces results, MacDonald said. She pointed to metrics like the school's 2015 graduation rate (100 percent), the high number of percentage of graduates pursuing two- or four-year college degrees and the school's place on the most recent AP District Honor Roll for "increasing access to AP course work while simultaneously maintaining or increasing the percentage of students earning scores of 3 or higher on AP Exams."

 

Mount Greylock officials suggested anyone who wants to compare Massachusetts school districts using the state's metrics, like Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System scores, look at the website of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

 

Director of Pupil Services Kim Grady explained the support system in place for special needs students. Vice Principal Jacob Schutz discussed the school culture — focusing on extracurriculars, character development and the dedication of the school's teachers.

 

"Teachers are available all the time," Schutz said. "I've heard of students calling teachers at home to get help on homework. ... I walk around after school and it's like some of the people never leave. I sometimes feel bad if I'm leaving at 5:30 and there's a bunch of teachers there."

 

Despite Dias' request that the meeting avoid a political agenda, there were a couple of pointed remarks between residents during the Q&A period that clearly indicated the divide in town.

 

Selectman Hank Sayers at one point challenged Dias for "rushing" to create a forum in response to Thursday's meeting at Hoosac Valley High School, where Adams-Cheshire district officials hope to persuade Lanesborough to send its students.

 

"I don't want people going to tomorrow's meeting without knowing what we have," Dias said. "I don't think we were unprepared at all."

 

About 75 community members from Lanesborough and Williamstown heard about the benefits of Mount Greylock from Superintendent Douglas Dias, right, and other school officials.

Lanesborough resident Carole Castonguay challenged the Mount Greylock officials over a perception that Lanesborough students are left out of some of the school's offerings, like the opportunity to take classes at Williams College or enrollment in AP classes.

 

MacDonald admitted that transportation to take classes off campus is a challenge to any family since the school can't provide transportation, and a student living down the street from a college might have an advantage. In the past, students have organized carpools to classes during the school day, and the high school hopes to take more advantage of Berkshire Regional Transportation Authority routes in the future.

 

As for Castonguay's contention that Lanesborough students enroll in AP classes in lower numbers than Williamstown students, MacDonald pointed to her former role as the Tri-District's curriculum coordinator as helping to bridge any gap between Mount Greylock's feeder elementary schools: Lanesborough Elementary and Williamstown Elementary.

 

"I look at Lanesborough scores," she said. "I look at Lanesborough preparedness. Looking ahead, there are two seventh-graders who are going to be taking geometry next year. They both happen to be from Lanesborough."

 

Castonguay said it was in issue of educating families about the importance of AP classes.

 

MacDonald said the school could do more outreach to parents in Lanesborough.

 

"We do a presentation for rising ninth-grade parents and new parents when the course selection is done," she said. "We do it at Mount Greylock. We may need to do a separate presentation here in Lanesborough.

 

"I'm delighted to see how many people are here this evening. We want people to come up to Mount Greylock. That's where the school is. But it's a drive."

 

Another audience member asked about the perception that Williamstown residents want to create a Williamstown high school and leave Lanesborough out in the cold.

 

MacDonald said there would be no advantage to either town in breaking up the district.

 

"Mount Greylock is Mount Greylock because it's Lanesborough and Williamstown together," she said. "The students we have mean we can have a brighter, more diverse, appealing set of courses we can offer. If it's a Williamstown high school or a Lanesborough high school, you're not going to have that diversity.

 

"Mount Greylock won't be Mount Greylock if it's a one-town school."