MCLA Alumna Named Scope Educator of the Year

Jill Pompi of the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, with her family in Boston, receives the SCOPE Educator of the Year award.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Jill Pompi, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts Class of 1989,  the literacy director at C.T. Plunkett School in the Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, is the MCLA SCOPE (Standing Committee on Professional Education) Educator of the Year.

She received the award on Tuesday, May 30, in Boston.

This Educator Alumni Award recognizes and celebrates outstanding state university educator alumni who work or have worked in a Massachusetts public pre-K or K-12 school.

Pompi, who earned her bachelor's degree, master's degree, reading specialist certification and administrator certification at MCLA, and her education specialist Degree at Simmons College in Boston, works with students in grades K-8 who struggle with reading and writing. In addition, she works as an adjunct instructor for Simmons College, and is a national consultant for Language Circle/Project Read.

A former curriculum director, Title I director, literacy coach and elementary school teacher for grades 1-5, Pompi has 28 years of experience in teaching literacy to children.

Cost, Access to NBCTC High Among Concerns North Berkshire Residents

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
06:15PM / Thursday, April 25, 2024

Adams Select Chair Christine Hoyt, NBCTC Executive Director David Fabiano and William Solomon, the attorney representing the four communities, talk after the session. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Public access channels should be supported and made more available to the public — and not be subject to a charge.

 

More than three dozen community members in-person and online attended the public hearing  Wednesday on public access and service from Spectrum/Charter Communications. The session at City Hall was held for residents in Adams, Cheshire, Clarksburg and North Adams to express their concerns to Spectrum ahead of another 10-year contract that starts in October.

 

Listening via Zoom but not speaking was Jennifer Young, director state government affairs at Charter.

 

One speaker after another conveyed how critical local access television is to the community and emphasized the need for affordable and reliable services, particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly. 

 

"I don't know if everybody else feels the same way but they have a monopoly," said Clarksburg resident David Emery. "They control everything we do because there's nobody else to go to. You're stuck with with them."

 

Public access television, like the 30-year-old Northern Berkshire Community Television, is funded by cable television companies through franchise fees, member fees, grants and contributions.

 

Spectrum is the only cable provider in the region and while residents can shift to satellite providers or streaming, Northern Berkshire Community Television is not available on those alternatives and they may not be easy for some to navigate. For instance, the Spectrum app is available on smart televisions but it doesn't include PEG, the public, educational and governmental channels provided by NBCTC.