DESE Office of School Monitoring to Visit MGRSD

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — During the week of May 13, 2024, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Office of Public School Monitoring (PSM) will conduct a Tiered Focused Monitoring Review of Mount Greylock Regional School District. 
 
The Office of Public School Monitoring visits each district and charter school every three years to monitor compliance with federal and state special education and civil rights regulations. Areas of review related to special education include student assessments, determination of eligibility, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team process, and IEP development and implementation. Areas of review related to civil rights include bullying, student discipline, physical restraint, and equal access to school programs for all students.
 
In addition to the onsite visit, parent outreach is an important part of the review process. The review chairperson from the Office of Public School Monitoring will send all parents of students with disabilities an online survey that focuses on key areas of their child's special education program. Survey results will contribute to the development of a report. During the onsite review, the Office of Public School Monitoring will interview the chairperson(s) of the district's Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). Other onsite activities may include interviews of district staff and administrators, reviews of student records, and onsite observations.
 
Parents and other individuals may call Michelle Hennessey-Kowalchek, Public School Monitoring Chairperson, at (413) 314-6709 to request a telephone interview. If an individual requires an accommodation, such as translation, to participate in an interview, the Department will make the necessary arrangements.
 
Within approximately 60 business days after the onsite visit, the review chairperson will provide the district with a report with information about areas in which the district meets or exceeds regulatory requirements and areas in which the district requires assistance to correct or improve practices. The public will be able to access the report at http://www.doe.mass.edu/psm/tfm/reports/.
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Town Meeting Floor Fight Brewing on Williamstown Elementary School Budget

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — In January, the Williamstown Select Board decided to move town meeting back to the Williamstown Elementary School gymnasium.
 
On Wednesday, it became clear that the elementary school budget could be one of the biggest issues before the meeting.
 
Residents concerned that WES is underfunded and "slipping" said Wednesday that they will seek to amend the Mount Greylock Regional School District budget on the floor of town meeting to increase the district's assessment to the town.
 
"We are going to go to town meeting and propose, actually, an addendum to increase the budget and hopefully pass that to support not just a level service but to actually include some school improvement," Jenna Hasenkampf said Wednesday at a meeting of the town's Finance Committee.
 
"We also think we are long overdue to invest in your schools. We've shown, as a town, that we can spend that money when it comes to services like the Fire Department that we view as essential. We think our public schools are just as essential, if not more.
 
"I think that more students pass through those halls than we see a fire per year here."
 
Hasenkampf, a member of the School Council at WES, spoke from the floor at the Fin Comm meeting on the night the panel was reviewing the budget requests from both the Northern Berkshire Vocational Regional School District (McCann Tech) and the Mount Greylock district, which operates elementary schools in Lanesborough and Williamstown and the Mount Greylock Regional School, a middle-high school serving Grades 7 through 12.
 
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