DESE Office of School Monitoring to Visit MGRSD

Print Story | Email Story
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/.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Residents Question Plan to Use Herbicide Near Green River

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Residents are asking the Conservation Commission to reconsider a 2023 decision that allowed the use of an herbicide that studies have linked to cancer, while its unclear if the group with permission to treat a parcel near the Green River will follow through on the plan.
 
At issue is a 4.3-acre riverfront parcel owned by the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation off Woodlawn Drive near the site of the town's new fire station.
 
In late 2023, Con Comm OK'd a management plan for the area that included, "a combination of forestry mowing, cut/paint and foliar spray herbicide application," to address the out-of-control growth of invasive exotic plants on the site.
 
But WRLF never recorded the commission's order of conditions with the Registry of Deeds, a step it would need to complete in order to implement the plan. The town's conservation agent told the commission at its March 12 meeting that because of budgetary concerns, Rural Lands had not embarked on the planned ecological restoration, but it might want to revive that plan.
 
The commission's order of conditions expires three years after it was issued in December 2023.
 
"There was a seasonal plan in that [2023] application of cutting at a certain time of year … and then herbicide application in certain times of year to line up with the seasonality of certain plant and animal communities," Community Development Director Andrew Groff told the Con Comm. "They'll have to amend some of that schedule moving forward.
 
"I think we'll see [Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation's Dan Gura] and his contractor in the spring for an amendment to that schedule later in the spring, maybe early summer, and, likely, an extension."
 
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories