MCLA to Host Information Session for Graduate Programs

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) will host a virtual information session for graduate programs – Master of Business Administration (MBA) and Master of Education (MEd) on Dec. 5 at noon. 

Prospective students can meet with faculty and staff to learn more about continuing education in three of MCLA's programs that are designed to support the rising workforce needs both in the Berkshires and beyond. 

The MBA program offers a broad-based, multidisciplinary education that combines the strengths of MCLA business faculty with those of practicing managers actively involved in day-to-day decision-making in the field. It is a part-time 30-credit program designed for working professionals and in partnership with the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC). 

The MEd Program offers a thoughtful blend of classroom and fieldwork experiences that prepare students to make a meaningful impact in their school communities. Programs include: MEd with Initial Licensure, Professional Teacher Licensure with MEd, MEd with Individualized Plan of Study Non-Licensure, Accelerated +1 Bachelor's Degree with MEd 

To register visit lnk.mcla.edu/gradinfo or contact the Office of Graduate and Continuing Education at 413-662-5575.  

North Adams Hopes to Transform Y Into Community Recreation Center

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff
05:19AM / Thursday, May 02, 2024

Mayor Jennifer Macksey updates members of the former YMCA on the status of the roof project and plans for reopening. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The city has plans to keep the former YMCA as a community center.

 

"The city of North Adams is very committed to having a recreation center not only for our youth but our young at heart," Mayor Jennifer Macksey said to the applause of some 50 or more YMCA members on Wednesday. "So we are really working hard and making sure we can have all those touch points."

 

The fate of the facility attached to Brayton School has been in limbo since the closure of the pool last year because of structural issues and the departure of the Berkshire Family YMCA in March.

 

The mayor said the city will run some programming over the summer until an operator can be found to take over the facility. It will also need a new name. 

 

"The YMCA, as you know, has departed from our facilities and will not return to our facility in the form that we had," she said to the crowd in Council Chambers. "And that's been mostly a decision on their part. The city of North Adams wanted to really keep our relationship with the Y, certainly, but they wanted to be a Y without borders, and we're going a different direction."

 

The pool was closed in March 2023 after the roof failed a structural inspection. Kyle Lamb, owner of Geary Builders, the contractor on the roof project, said the condition of the laminated beams was far worse than expected. 

 

"When we first went into the Y to do an inspection, we certainly found a lot more than we anticipated. The beams were actually rotted themselves on the bottom where they have to sit on the walls structurally," he said. "The beams actually, from the weight of snow and other things, actually crushed themselves eight to 11 inches. They were actually falling apart. ...