Simon's Rock Awarded Early College Full School Impact Planning Grant

04:02PM / Monday, April 25, 2022Print Story | Email Story

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. —Simon's Rock announced that the institution was awarded an Early College Full School Impact Planning Grant of $150,000 from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

"The purpose of this competitive grant is to provide significant planning and resources to support a district and/or high school and college partner in designing and developing an impactful, large scale, or "full school" immersive Early College program model."

The grant will support a three-year pilot program for Simon's Rock to partner with Southern Berkshire Regional School District (SBRSD) to develop a shared immersive whole-school model Early College program beginning in fall 2022 (Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education).

The whole-school model partnership was specifically created for Mount Everett Regional High School (MERHS) and draws upon elements from Simon's Rock and Bard Early Colleges. Simon's Rock has partnered with SBRSD since the fall of 2019 in providing students at MERHS with the opportunity to take Early College courses and earn credits towards their associate degrees while still enrolled in public education. In the whole-school model, which is the first whole school partnership in Massachusetts in a rural district, students at MERHS will have increased educational opportunities in a school district with only one comprehensive high school option. The Simon's Rock and MERHS whole-school partnership is an innovative approach for rural students, who have been underserved by Early Colleges, and can be a model for small comprehensive districts, particularly rural ones.

The curriculum in the Simon's Rock and MERHS whole-school model draws from Simon's Rock courses such as "Mathematics and its Applications" and "Philosophical Problems," as well as the Pathways to the American College Experience (PACE) program, College Experiential Learning & Research Workshops from Bard High School Early Colleges in Newark and Cleveland, and the Civic Engagement Capstone from Bard Early College Hudson.

The whole-school model will blend Early College with career pathways and includes 3 plus credit levels for 5 different pathway options with only 35-50 students per grade. Teacher training will also be provided through the Early College Research Institute to further expand Early College access.

The Bard College network has 8 high schools that utilize the Early College model in urban areas including New York City, Cleveland, Baltimore, Washington D.C, New Orleans, and the Hudson Valley. As the founding site of Early College, Simon's Rock is leading the future in building rural Early College access.

Tags: bard college,

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Wisdom & Cinncinatus Lodges Donate to Berkshire Humane Society

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:15PM / Saturday, March 07, 2026

WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Two local Grand Lodges of Massachusetts selected the Berkshire Humane Society for their charity donation.

Cincinnatus Lodge and Wisdom Lodge AF&AM hosted a golf and cornhole tournament last year, raising $2,500. Members of each lodge presented the check to Berkshire Humane Executive Director John Perreault last week.

The Wisdom Lodge does a golf tournament every year to benefit local charities or schools, and is locally sponsored, but last year's tournament was special to them.

"Personally, this year, because my father passed away, we changed the name of the tournament to represent him, so it's now called the RW Lawrence D. Tonini Memorial Golf Tournament," said Christopher Tonini.

"And because my father loved the animals, we thought that we would change course this first year of the name change and do something he would love to have happened."

Tonini is the master of the Cincinnatus Lodge and the treasurer of Wisdom Lodge.

He said they are also looking at a surprise donation to be given to the Humane Society on top of the $2,500.

Joint member Nicholas Oleen said their lodges are always looking to benefit the community.

"We're a non-profit organization, and our teachings are basically about building character and helping out people in the community and charity."

They've donated to many other organizations in the past, including Soldier On and Food Bank of Western Mass.

Perreault was able to make the trip to receive the checks from the two lodges and give his thanks

"At the Berkshire Humane Society it’s more than just helping animals, it's helping people as well," he said. "And every time we help a companion, we're actually helping the owner as well. And part of our programming is really pet retention.

"So our goal is, rather than have animals coming into our shelter, is to keep it in their homes. So a lot of the funding that you're providing here tonight will go to help keep animals in their homes and not in shelter."

He said the money will go toward the shelter's pet food bank and wellness clinic.

"I can tell you that many, many, many animals will be helped, which will make many, many people happy," he said. "And if you have pets at home, you know that they are part of your family, and they certainly help you out in good times and in the bad so we can't thank you enough for what you guys have done, so thank you."

The lodges have many events coming up and you can find out more information on their Facebook or Instagram.

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