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Candidates for Pittsfield School Committee meet in a virtual forum hosted by the Berkshire NAACP.

Pittsfield School Committee Candidates Talk Retention, Budget, Safety in NAACP Forum

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Six of the eight candidates running for the Pittsfield Public School Committee participated in a forum held by the Berkshire Chapter of the NAACP last week.

Common themes of debate included student retention, the school budget, student and parent engagement, and safety within the schools.

Most of the questions were answered with an overlapping consideration for diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Incumbents William Cameron, Mark Brazeau, Alison McGee, and newcomers Vicky Smith, Sara Hathaway, and William Tyer participated in the forum moderated by Will Singleton.

Karen Reis Kaveney Murray and incumbent Daniel Elias were not present at the debate.

Two other candidates, Nyanna Slaughter and Kate Lauzon have indicated that they will no longer be running but their names will be on the ballot because the deadline has passed to withdraw.

Retention and the school committee budget

Brazeau identified student and staff retention as the largest challenge the district faces right now.

In order to alleviate the problem, he said, the School Committee needs to work with the City Council to find the funds to raise wages in the district.  

"There's been a pay gap in our country for a very long time and education is always the one that falls to the bottom of the barrel," he said. "It's time that we have to start stepping up and pay them what they deserve. The last 18 months in our district and in the entire world were crucial, and our teachers stepped up and did the work they needed to do to ensure that our students were OK."

In his opening statement, Brazeau said that if elected, one of his primary goals will be to advocate for higher pay to support staff and work on retention and recruitment into the district. This includes finding ways to "dramatically" increase pay scales while taking necessary steps to prevent educators from leaving.

While he acknowledges that the whole school budget is important, Brazeau later said the amount of administrative staff could be evaluated to see if there is an overflow in that department and if so, use the funds to increase pay elsewhere.

"Budget increases — budget increases need to go into staff," he added. "Need to go into support staff, into our lower-paying areas which are bus monitors or cafeteria workers or secretaries, the people that need to actually make a living wage and are not making a living wage at this point."

He said the district could also look at decreasing the number of schools to save money, citing the district's decrease from around 12,000 students to around 5,000.

Cameron said students districting out of Pittsfield schools is sometimes influenced by people with insufficient information making comments about the situation.

"There are a variety of reasons why people don't send their children to school in Pittsfield, or in other communities for that matter. Pittsfield does not stand out from the crowd in Berkshire County in terms of the percentages of kids going out of the district," he said.

"Actually, Berkshire Hills loses a greater percentage of its students to school choice, Lee does, Southern Berkshire does, North Adams does, Hoosac Valley does, they all lose a greater percentage of their students, but we have more students, and so our percentage is not as high as theirs. In some of the hilltowns, it's over 20 percent, but for us, we're losing a considerable number of kids, and the reasons vary."

Cameron suggested understanding the nature of the problem that fuels districting out and designing programming to address it.

He added that school choice in Pittsfield is "effectively white flight," meaning that the majority of white students are leaving the district. According to data from the Berkshire County Education Task Force, 78 percent of the students leaving the district are white whereas only 62 percent of the kids in the district are white.

"This is an issue that requires a great deal more discussion," Cameron said. "But I think programming and convincing people that the schools are in fact safe and orderly, those are the keys to bringing students back in or attracting students from outside the district."

In terms of a school budget centered around student improvement outcomes, in his view it is not where the cost centers are, but where the money is being expended in terms of the district's improvement plan.

Hathaway was queried on how to attract and retain teacher applicants, and especially applicants of color. She said that it is important to source from all kinds of different schools for recruitment and possibly persuade students who have not thought about a career in education to become teachers.

One of her suggestions, which she said she had regularly voiced in the comment section of a local newspaper, is to have a career ladder in Pittsfield that introduces high school-aged students to early childhood education.

She believes the schools have tried this idea out.

"If they don't become teachers, they'll still become better parents, because they'll understand how to raise their kids and to give their kids enrichment," the former mayor said.

"But if they do become teachers, we've got homegrown people with ties to the community, who may be more likely to make their career here, make their stand and one hopes that we can get those committed people from the community to bring their commitment to the schools as well."

In her opening statement, McGee acknowledged that she is coming from a place of privilege because of having easy access to education and it is her responsibility to advocate for people who do not have the same opportunities.

"I think that the terms equity diversity and transparency are used more frequently than they're truly honored and upheld," she said. "I see less transparency in politics, but I try to ask questions that encourage both the leaders and the public to recognize that things are unclear, I'm not a politician but I'm an educator and an advocate for those who are underrepresented."

Engagement and safety

Smith believes that increased student and parent engagement should be one of the key accomplishments of the School Committee.

"I see it starting in kindergarten because I was a kindergarten teacher if we're going to have engaged citizens that we would have opportunities in classrooms where the curriculum is not so prescribed that all the time is spent on figuring out what curriculum comes next," she said.

"That kids are learning in class meetings, and high schools have a genuine student government so that they can practice being citizens."

She hopes the district can find a way to have a lot more involvement from parents in genuine ways.



When asked what the schools can do to better prepare students to become engaged citizens, Cameron said it is important to give them a strong academic foundation and to place a strong emphasis on civics.

He cited the commonwealth's civics program that involves eighth and tenth-grade students and said that he believes the work should start before the eighth grade.

Tyer said the schools could use more communication with the parents, whether it be through large open meetings where they are invited to attend or regular phone calls.

He has found that a lot of parents just don't understand what is happening within the district and with the School Committee but it can be explained through simple communication.

"When we started the Youth Commission, we just put everybody in a room. We had older folks who were scared to death, to the young kids, the young kids who thought the folks don't know what you're talking about," Tyer said about a commission he served on that has been inactive since 2015.

"We put them in a room together, people with earrings and tattoos and little old ladies, and I'll tell you, it was the most breathtaking experience that I ever had, these people came together by the end of that meeting that first night."

As a former educator at Morningside Community School, McGee was asked what she would advocate for changes to the layout of Crosby Elementary School, Conte Community School, and Morningside.

She explained that the population of students that are housed at those schools is more susceptible to distraction and is not always supported by the physical layout of the schools.

"The two open classroom buildings do pose a problem, they're outdated, it's been brought up to us, many times, it also takes extensive work to change an address that," she said, pointing to Conte and Morningside's 1970s style open classroom plan.

"I think that we need to look at the learning environment that our students need, and what's going to promote the best learning in a really thoughtful way."

McGee said the aesthetics of the learning environments, the structure, and the tools that teachers need in order to support it need to be considered.

She added that because of Crosby's wide array of supportive programs, it is often seen as a place where students are sent when they can't succeed and that viewpoint needs to be changed to support all learners.

To address teacher and administrator burnout, Smith said there needs to be autonomy, recognition and support for each person to be and do their very best.

"I talked to a lot of teachers as I stopped in the schools, and I've talked to a lot of them that have left, and they're very very frustrated with the micromanagement and the feeling like they have no freedom to be their very best self," she said.

When queried about how to ensure the safety of teachers and students within the school, Tyer said it is involved with the engagement of students and parents.

Tyer believes that students resource officers are important to maintain safety within the schools.

"I may be wrong, but I think resource officers are in schools, not just to respond to issues, and not just to prevent an issue, but to build that community spirit with the police, with the schools and educators, and let's not forget the parents," he said.

"We need to engage parents to need to engage with their students and with their kids, and with their teachers, and bringing it back to the civil civics of schools."

He added that safety depends on engagement from everyone and better education.

In his rebuttal, Brazeau emphasized the need for student resource officers to be property trained and reflect the student body.

"When it comes to SRS, SRO is in our schools, our SRO is had to be properly trained, they need that very specific training to move forward in our schools and we cannot put any officers in our schools," he said. "Without this crucial training, moving forward, we also have to look at making sure that our SROs also reflect our student body moving forward."

Other topics

Hathaway was asked about how to address climate change within the school system.

She believes that the younger generation is anxious to know more about climate change so it would impactful to include it in the curriculum. She also mentioned evaluating the school bus fleet to see how they could minimize the burning of fossil fuels.

McGee and Tyer were asked what their responses are to the argument that making cannabis readily available in the community sends a dangerous message to students.

McGee said that if the schools are keeping with the idea of supporting students to make safe, smart decisions no matter what they are doing, the district is not sending a dangerous message.

"Providing a dangerous message would be to control what they're thinking, or to only present one side but if we're allowing them to be empowered enough to make a safe decision then we're setting them up for success," She added.

Tyer also believes that is important to teach students to make good decisions.

"I think we have to teach our kids, we have to teach them young that this is out there, you're going to be exposed to it," He said. "We can't stop that, but we can help you make better choices."

Tyer added that it doesn't have to be advertised that such substances are out there.

"I know it's a business but, you know, take it away from schools," he said.


Tags: debate,   election 2021,   Pittsfield School Committee,   


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Crosby/Conte Statement of Interest Gets OK From Council

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

Architect Carl Franceschi and Superintendent Joseph Curtis address the City Council on Tuesday.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — With the approval of all necessary bodies, the school district will submit a statement of interest for a combined build on the site of Crosby Elementary School.

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave Superintendent Joseph Curtis the green light for the SOI to the Massachusetts School Building Authority by April 12.

"The statement I would make is we should have learned by our mistakes in the past," Mayor Peter Marchetti said.

"Twenty years ago, we could have built a wastewater treatment plant a lot cheaper than we could a couple of years ago and we can wait 10 years and get in line to build a new school or we can start now and, hopefully, when we get into that process and be able to do it cheaper then we can do a decade from now."

The proposal rebuilds Conte Community School and Crosby on the West Street site with shared facilities, as both have outdated campuses, insufficient layouts, and need significant repair. A rough timeline shows a feasibility study in 2026 with design and construction ranging from 2027 to 2028.

Following the SOI, the next step would be a feasibility study to determine the specific needs and parameters of the project, costing about $1.5 million and partially covered by the state. There is a potential for 80 percent reimbursement through the MSBA, who will decide on the project by the end of the year.

Earlier this month, city officials took a tour of both schools — some were shocked at the conditions students are learning in.

Silvio O. Conte Community School, built in 1974, is a 69,500 square foot open-concept facility that was popular in the 1960s and 1970s but the quad classroom layout poses educational and security risks.  John C. Crosby Elementary School, built in 1962, is about 69,800 square feet and was built as a junior high school so several aspects had to be adapted for elementary use.

Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi said the walkthrough was "striking" at points, particularly at Conte, and had her thinking there was no way she would want her child educated there. She recognized that not everyone has the ability to choose where their child goes to school and "we need to do better."

"The two facilities that we are looking at I think are a great place to start," she said.

"As the Ward 6 councilor, this is where my residents and my students are going to school so selfishly yes, I want to see this project happen but looking at how we are educating Pittsfield students, this is going to give us a big bang for our buck and it's going to help improve the educational experience of a vast group of students in our city."

During the tour, Ward 5 Councilor Patrick Kavey, saw where it could be difficult to pay attention in an open classroom with so much going on and imagined the struggle for students.

Councilor at Large Alisa Costa said, "we cannot afford not to do this" because the city needs schools that people want their children to attend.

"I know that every financial decision we make is tough but we have to figure this out. If the roof on your house were crumbling in, you'd have to figure it out and that's where we're at and we can't afford to wait any longer," she said.

"We can't afford for the sake of the children going to our schools, for the sake of our city that we want to see grow so we have to build a city where people want to go."

Councilor at Large Kathy Amuso, who served on the School Building Needs Commission for about 18 years, pointed out that the panel identified a need to address Conte in 2008.

Curtis addressed questions about the fate of Conte if the build were to happen, explaining that it could be kept as an active space for community use, house the Eagle Academy or the Adult Learning Center, or house the central offices.

School attendance zones are a point of discussion for the entire school district and for this project.

"At one time I think we had 36 school buildings and now we have essentially 12 and then it would go down again but in a thoughtful way," Curtis said.

Currently, eight attendance zones designate where a student will go to elementary school. Part of the vision is to collapse those zones into three with hopes of building a plan that incorporates partner schools in each attendance zone.

"I think that going from eight schools to three would be easier to maintain and I think it would make more sense but in order to get there we will have to build these buildings and we will have to spend money," Kavey said, hoping that the city would receive the 80 percent reimbursement it is vying for.

This plan for West Street, which is subject to change, has the potential to house grades pre-kindergarten to first grade in one school and Grades 2 to 4 in another with both having their own identities and administrations. 

The districtwide vision for middle school students is to divide all students into a grade five and six school and a grade seven and eight school to ensure equity.

"The vagueness of what that looks like is worrisome to some folks that I have talked to," Lampiasi said.

Curtis emphasized that these changes would have to be voted on by the School Committee and include public input.

"We've talked about it conceptually just to illustrate a possible grade span allocation," he said. "No decisions have been made at all by the School Committee, even the grade-span proposals."

School Committee Chair William Cameron said it is civic duty of the committee and council to move forward with the SOI.
 
He explained that when seven of the city's schools were renovated in the late 1990s, the community schools were only 25 years old and Crosby was 35 years old.  The commonwealth did not deem them to be sorely in need of renovation or replacement.
 
"Now 25 years later, Crosby is physically decrepit and an eyesore. It houses students ages three to 11 in a facility meant for use by teenagers,"
 
"Conte and Morningside opened in the mid-1970s. They were built as then state-of-the-art schools featuring large elongated rectangles of open instructional space. Over almost half a century, these physical arrangements have proven to be inadequate for teaching core academic skills effectively to students, many of whom need extra services and a distraction-free environment if they are to realize their full academic potential."
 
He said  the proposal addresses a serious problem in the "economically poorest, most ethnically, culturally, and linguistically diverse area" of the city.
 
Cameron added that these facilities have been deemed unsatisfactory and need to be replaced as part of the project to reimagine how the city can best meet the educational needs of its students.  He said it is the local government's job to move this project forward to ensure that children learn in an environment that is conducive to their thriving academically.
 
"The process of meeting this responsibility needs to begin here tonight," he said.
 
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