image description — Robert Putnam is recognized on his retirement from the Hoosac Valley Regional School District in 2018 by Adams Selectwoman Christine Hoyt. Putnam, on Monday, was named interim superintendent at Mount Greylock Regional.

Mount Greylock Names Putnam Interim Superintendent

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
06:22PM / Monday, July 06, 2020Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Mount Greylock Regional School Committee on Monday voted to offer an interim superintendent position to the former superintendent in the Central Berkshire and Adams-Cheshire Regional school districts.

Chair Christina Conry announced after the committee met in executive session for 38 minutes that Superintendent Kimberley Grady is on an indefinite medical leave.

Pending the successful negotiation of a contract, the district is hiring longtime Berkshire County educator Robert Putnam.

Putnam taught for 13 years in the Berkshire Hills Regional School District before moving into administration. He was the director of teaching and learning in the Berkshire Hills district from 2001-2003 and 2006-10, principal at Stockbridge Plain and Muddy Brook elementaries from 2003-06, assistant superintendent in Dalton from 2010-14, superintendent of Central Berkshire from 2014-15 and superintendent in Adams-Cheshire from 2016-18.

In between superintendent jobs, he returned to teaching in the Berkshire Hills district. He has been working as a consultant since retiring from Adams-Cheshire, now Hoosac Valley, two years ago.

"The district explored other possible interim candidates and felt strongly about Dr. Putnam," Conry told iBerkshires.com after Monday's brief, single-item public meeting.

The vote to hire Putnam on an interim basis was 7-0.

"We want to make sure we have clear directives," Conry said in the meeting. "The No. 1 priority is having our reopening plans mapped out. After that would be acclimating the new administrators to their roles and working with the subcommittees."

This spring, Grady hired Kristen Thompson as principal at Williamstown Elementary School and Jake Schutz as principal at Mount Greylock. The latter moves up from the post of assistant principal at the middle-high school. Thompson comes to the district from Albuquerque, N.M.

Late last month, rumors began circulating in the district after Mount Greylock Assistant Superintendent Andrea Wadsworth sent an email to district staff informing them that she would be acting as superintendent while Grady was "unavailable."

Wadsworth this spring had announced that she was leaving the district to take a job at Berkshire Community College. On Monday, Conry noted that Wadsworth was planning to leave the Lanesborough-Williamstown district on Wednesday, but Putnam is available to begin work right away, so "there will be some crossover."

It is the second time in seven years that the Mount Greylock district will be led by an interim superintendent. In December 2014, after the retirement of Rose Ellis, the district hired Gordon Noseworthy on an interim basis. He served from January through June 2015.

The School Committee is scheduled to meet on Thursday at 6 p.m.

Tags: interim appointment, MGRSD, superintendent,

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Williamstown Dedicates Max Rothschild Memorial Skatepark

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires.com Sports
03:55PM / Saturday, October 17, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — As hundreds gathered to celebrate the opening of the town's new skatepark, the minds of many were on the one person they most wished could be in attendance.

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.

And just before the ribbon was cut, Adam Rothschild talked about his 7-year-old son, for whom the venue was named.

"As much as Max loved sports and adventure, what really made him special was his exuberance — the exuberance he brought to every day," Rothschild told the crowd. "He approached life with confidence, energy and a sense of fun and mischief that was contagious. He loved playing with [siblings] Ellie and Caleb and with his friends. He was competitive. He could be bossy. And he certainly liked to do things his own way.

"But, above all, he was fun to be around. He brought energy and excitement and a lot of love wherever he went.

"I think that's what makes this skatepark such a fitting place to honor Max. A skatepark is about more than skateboarding. It is about community and friendship. It's about trying something new, taking a chance, falling down, getting back up and having fun all along the way. It's a place where kids can challenge themselves, cheer each other on and make memories together. And that sounds a lot like Max."

The Rothschild family joined organizers who fund-raised to make the park happen and local government officials in a day that included trick competitions, music and food.

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