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Superintendent Jason McCandless.
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School Committee Chairwoman Katherine Yon.
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Kids 4 Harmony played three songs for the convocation.
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Mayor Daniel Bianchi.
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Deb Cebula addresses her co-workers.
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Ryan Sabourin said his 21 years working in the district 'flew by.'

Pittsfield Schools Staff Ready For First Day of Classes

By Andy McKeeveriBerkshires Staff
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Katie Wiader told her co-workers that she is just as excited about the first day of school than she was 27 years ago.
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Dawne DiNicola believes she has the best job anyone could ask for.
 
She has been a kindergarten teacher at Crosby Elementary School for 22 years.
 
"They are funny and they are happy. They are literal and innocent. And best of all, I get to see them grow," DiNicola told a Taconic High School gymnasium full of School Department employees.
 
DiNicola was one of 16 school employees to speak about their job at Monday's convocation at which all of the employees gathered to kick off a new school year, which opens on Tuesday. 
 
"I'm just as excited today as I was 27 years ago," said Katie Wiater, the Herberg Middle School nurse, about the opening day of yet another year. 
 
Some 6,000 students will attend their first day of classes for the school year and the staff gathered in somewhat of a team rally to perform their roles to educate those students. 
 
"Every bit of work that gets done for children in Pittsfield Public Schools is here," Superintendent Jason McCandless said. "It's really nice to gather under one roof."
 
Monday was the first time a convocation was held with everybody together rather than in smaller, separate gatherings. McCandless used some of his speaking time to remind educators about the value of education. Through quotes from a Martin Luther King Jr. essay on the subject, McCandless said what the schools do isn't just about teaching subjects but also about instilling intelligence and character in students. 
 
And that takes every staff member. Custodian Keith Williams knows that. He said he gets up every day to work during in the summer in "100 degree heat" with chemicals that are labeled dangerous. 
 
"The results are tangible. The kids say thank you. The teachers say thank you," Williams said.
 
Deb Cebula is a school secretary and says every day she goes to work with a sense of purpose helping the system tick. Pam Burton, cook manager at Egremont, knows that well-fed students learn better and she's glad to serve her role providing those meals. Mike Lausier takes pride in ensuring all of the technology the students and teachers need are working as needed. 
 
Morningside paraprofessional Stephanie Johnson is in her 15th year and has seen her seven children go through the school system. She too continues to see the positive impacts the staff makes on the lives of children.
 
"We are all so important to all of our students," Johnson said.
 
It isn't always easy though as multiple teachers attested to. 
 
"We have struggles. We have successes in this profession," said Brendan Sheran, president of United Educators of Pittsfield and a high school teacher, adding that there is increasing state control over education and accountability standards to the point where other school districts have been taken over.
 
While there are difficult times, Sheran said "it's a good feeling to be remember for your work" when students go on to have successful lives.
 
Union President and teacher Brendan Sheran says in an age of blaming and shaming districts over standardized testing scores, the teachers are trying to create a better community.
The union president said teachers build the community up to leave it in a better place than where they found it. He said the union is nearing another three-year contract to keep the educators in the classroom doing just that and he said the city's leaders are recognizing the challenges in the working conditions.
 
Mayor Daniel Bianchi said the union negotiations have resulted in a "responsible, acceptable" agreement. He said the school budget will meet student needs and focus on 21st century learning. The new Taconic High School project will also be a "small piece" of what the future of Pittsfield schools will be like.
 
"Your jobs are not easy, that goes without saying, and your jobs are critically important," the mayor said. "Our kids are well taken care of because you go above the call of duty."
 
Pittsfield High School Dean of Students Christina Huff says the most important part of being an educator is building relationships with the students. She remembered her first day two years ago when she was hired as dean at Reid and the "staff took me in like family." 
 
The staff at all 12 schools provide that type of support for one another, staff members said, and Taconic Principal John Vosburgh said Pittsfield is the school district where teachers make the most difference in children's lives. 
 
"Pittsfield is very easily the best district to work for," said Allendale teacher Jessica Bazinet. "We have the toughest job but also the best job in the entire world."
 
And on Tuesday, those employees will head to work with a new lineup of children in search of education. 

Tags: convocation,   pittsfield schools,   

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EPA Lays Out Draft Plan for PCB Remediation in Pittsfield

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Ward 4 Councilor James Conant requested the meeting be held at Herberg Middle School as his ward will be most affected. 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency and General Electric have a preliminary plan to remediate polychlorinated biphenyls from the city's Rest of River stretch by 2032.

"We're going to implement the remedy, move on, and in five years we can be done with the majority of the issues in Pittsfield," Project Manager Dean Tagliaferro said during a hearing on Wednesday.

"The goal is to restore the (Housatonic) river, make the river an asset. Right now, it's a liability."

The PCB-polluted "Rest of River" stretches nearly 125 miles from the confluence of the East and West Branches of the river in Pittsfield to the end of Reach 16 just before Long Island Sound in Connecticut.  The city's five-mile reach, 5A, goes from the confluence to the wastewater treatment plant and includes river channels, banks, backwaters, and 325 acres of floodplains.

The event was held at Herberg Middle School, as Ward 4 Councilor James Conant wanted to ensure that the residents who will be most affected by the cleanup didn't have to travel far.

Conant emphasized that "nothing is set in actual stone" and it will not be solidified for many months.

In February 2020, the Rest of River settlement agreement that outlines the continued cleanup was signed by the U.S. EPA, GE, the state, the city of Pittsfield, the towns of Lenox, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, and other interested parties.

Remediation has been in progress since the 1970s, including 27 cleanups. The remedy settled in 2020 includes the removal of one million cubic yards of contaminated sediment and floodplain soils, an 89 percent reduction of downstream transport of PCBs, an upland disposal facility located near Woods Pond (which has been contested by Southern Berkshire residents) as well as offsite disposal, and the removal of two dams.

The estimated cost is about $576 million and will take about 13 years to complete once construction begins.

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