Miss Hall's School Appoints Academic Dean

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Miss Hall's School announces the appointment of Lisa J. Alberti as the school's new dean of Academics and Faculty.

Alberti, a member of the Miss Hall's School Class of 1973 and a Lenox native, joined Miss Hall's on July 1, bringing more than 40 years of classroom and administrative experience to the school. Previously the associate head of school at Trevor Day School in Manhattan, she has worked with faculty to guide curriculum development, advance inquiry-based learning and teaching, and support academic excellence, collaboration, and student-centered learning.

"I am very pleased to welcome Lisa back to Miss Hall's," said Head of School Julia Heaton. "Her belief that students should be at the center of their learning experiences and guided by faculty who bring passion for their subject areas to the classroom, dovetails perfectly with the ongoing work within and between the Miss Hall's academic departments. A gifted educator, Lisa's background will serve Miss Hall's well as the school advances its strategic design priority of an innovative, transformative academic program."

Alberti joined Trevor Day in 1977, teaching in the Primary School (grades K-3) and becoming the lower school director in 1986. In 1996, she was appointed director of the elementary school (grades one through five), serving in that role until 2011, when she was named assistant head of school for Curriculum and Teaching. The following year, she was named Trevor Day's associate head of school, a position she held until joining MHS.



In her role at Miss Hall's, Alberti will work with the faculty to guide, shape and implement the school's vision for its academic program. She will work closely with department chairs and other colleagues to identify, encourage, and support innovation that incorporates new ways of teaching and learning and the core competencies of an MHS graduate — vision, voice, interpersonal efficacy, and gumption — into the curriculum.

Additionally, Alberti joins the school's Leadership Team, the senior administrative team that meets regularly to exchange information, set institutional goals and policy, advise the head of school, and anticipate future needs for the school's ongoing growth.

Alberti holds an M.A. in education from Bank Street College of Education and a B.A. in psychology from Trinity College. Her son, Carlos, attends Connecticut College. She currently lives in Richmond, Mass.

 


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Pittsfield Celebrates Robert 'Bob' Presutti on Arbor Day

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Bob Presutti, right, is presented the Hebert Award in 2017 for his volunteer efforts at Springside Park. He died in 2023 at age 88.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A tree has been planted next to the Berkshire Athenaeum in honor of local "giant" Robert Presutti.

Officials celebrated Arbor Day on Friday by installing a commemorative plaque next to the American elm sapling. This is a tree that James McGrath, the city's park program manager, said Presutti would have been particularly proud of.

"Today is a day where we yes, celebrate trees, but today is also a day where here in the city we intentionally try to acknowledge the good work of folks in our community who spend their time and their efforts and their talents to make Pittsfield a more beautiful place," he said to a crowd of about 20 people.

"Today we are honoring a longtime community volunteer named Bob Presutti. I'm sure a lot of you here know Bob and know his contributions to the city, not only when it comes to trees and parks but also to the Retired Senior Volunteer Program."

The longtime volunteer passed away last year at the age of 88. He contributed more than 10,600 hours to RSVP and had great impacts on the Parks Department over the years from sharing his knowledge and talents to ensuring that workers were safe when working on trees.

"This morning I went through my emails to see how many emails Bob Presutti sent me since the year 2001 when I started with the city. Bob Presutti sent me 14,000 emails and nearly every single one of those was about trees," McGrath said, prompting laughter and smiles from attendees.

One thread struck him as particularly important because it showed Presutti's empathy when it comes to the safety of city workers while caring for trees.

"There were multiple emails from Bob about the need to get the Parks Department maintenance guys into a program learning about chainsaw safety and learning about ladder safety. He was really into making certain that our city workers were well cared for and had all of the instruction that they needed and in fact, he even offered his own time and services after he became certified to teach our city workers," McGrath said.

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