To Members of the Select Board and the Planning Board of Williamstown,
I have been a resident of Williamstown since 1971 and the owner of residential property in town. I am concerned about the process going through your committees to consider zoning changes in this town.
The process is rushing to put these changes in the next warrant articles, to be voted on in the next town meeting. This is unfair to town residents, who need more time to learn about and consider these proposed changes — few residents are even aware of their existence.
Most importantly, the town has hired a consultant for a new comprehensive plan for the town and Berkshire Regional Planning Commission is in the process of conducting a housing needs assessment for Berkshire County. Until these two reports have been completed, it makes no sense to ask us to vote on changes in zoning ordinances.
Thank you for your vigilance in ensuring that we voters get all the information and consultation we need to vote responsibly on proposed zoning changes in Williamstown.
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Letter: Incomplete Picture from Greylock School Committee
Letter to the Editor
To the Editor:
At the October Mount Greylock School Committee meeting, there was much celebration over the student growth percentiles (SGP) from last year's MCAS test data (Spring 2026). Growth is worth celebrating. But I worry the meeting, and the coverage of it, left families and our community with an incomplete picture of how our students are doing in math.
"Growth" sounds like it means scores went up, but that isn’t quite what SGP measures. SGP compares each student to students in the state who scored about the same the year before, then ranks how they did this year against that group. If a whole group of similar students decreases, the student who decreases the least can still earn a high growth percentile. A strong SGP tells us our students did better than their peers who scored similarly the year before. It doesn't tell us whether they are at grade level.
For example, the current 6th grade class at Williamstown Elementary School (WES) has decreased in their grade-level math proficiency every year since their 3rd grade MCAS. In 2024, 64 percent of the class was meeting expectations; in 2025 48 percent were at grade level, and in 2026 only 33 percent of their class met grade-level expectations. Our current WES 5th grade class follows a similar trend, with 48 percent meeting grade-level math expectations last year vs 56 percent meeting expectations in 2025 when they were in 3rd grade.
Not every class follows this pattern; our current 7th graders gained to 62 percent last year. But seeing entire classes decrease is something that deserves our attention.
Growth comparisons across the state provide useful information, but they do not tell the complete story. We also need to look at where our students are in terms of grade-level proficiency and how those numbers are changing from year to year within the Mt. Greylock school district. This will be our first year with the math interventionist role filled at WES and our second year with the new i-Ready curriculum.
As we watch whether these changes are working, I hope the School Committee will discuss proficiency alongside growth in its public meetings, so our community can see the full picture. Growth matters, but it isn’t enough if fewer of our kids are reaching grade level each year.
Sincerely,
Jenna Hasenkampf Williamstown, Mass.
Hasenkampf is a parent of WES students in Grades 2 and 4.
The Select Board's third-floor meeting to complete its evaluation process for the town manager will be televised by the town's public, educational and governmental television station. click for more
The park on Stetson Road “officially” opened with a ribbon cutting a little after 2 p.m., two hours after attendees started using their skateboards, bicycles, scooters and rollerblades at the Max Rothschild Memorial Skatepark. click for more
The single-vehicle accident left the operator of the motorcycle with, "serious injuries to his head, face and upper body," according to a news release from the Berkshire County District Attorney's Office. click for more
The town's two art museums were, collectively, before three town land-use boards over the last two weeks for approvals of an expansion and signage. click for more
