SHEFFIELD, Mass. — Southern Berkshire Regional School District (SBRSD) has been selected to be one of ten school districts in the country to partner with Transcend, a national nonprofit organization, that supports school communities to create and spread equitable learning environments. 

 

This collaboration marks a milestone in SBRSD's commitment to reimagine and redesign education within the district.

 

"We are thrilled to partner with Transcend and participate in their second Rural Schools Design Cohort," said Superintendent Dr. Beth Regulbuto. "The timing of this opportunity was perfect, as our District leadership team was already in the process of planning and developing strategies to gather more community input on the vision for the future of education at SBRSD. Being a part of this program will provide us with invaluable coaching, access to a wealth of resources, and additional support. Our goal is to engage our community in revisioning and innovating our educational practices in ways that best inspires and prepares our students for future success in whatever they choose."

 

By partnering directly with schools on design journeys and sharing models, tools, and insights, Transcend has influenced hundreds of schools and leaders in over 30 states.

 

"Rural communities bring so much to the national conversation around reimagining education and school redesign," shares Aylon Samouha, Transcend co-CEO. "Our inaugural rural cohort provided extraordinary collaborations and innovations. We had the privilege to work with bold communities of educators, system leaders, students, and families who are transforming learning environments for young people. We are looking forward to the same strides to be made with our newest cohort of communities."

 

The Rural School Design cohort will be broken out into three phases. As part of phase one, SBRSD will establish a dedicated core team to work closely with Transcend and their partners, embarking on a 10-month long design journey to reimagine the education landscape in an identified school within the district. This program will be free of costs, and SBRSD will receive a starting stipend of $11,000 dollars to cover any pilot program costs or essential travel expenses.

 

Subsequently, phase two will engage the community to gather insights and envision a blueprint for the transformation. Lastly, the third phase will involve piloting the new practices that are aligned with the agreed upon blueprint. 

 

In June, partners from Transcend visited Mount Everett Regional School to talk with SBRSD school leaders, School Committee members, students, and other members of the community. Transcend and its partners ultimately decided to work with SBRSD because of the District's commitment to equity and creating strong learning experiences for every young person.

 

In a virtual meeting on Wednesday, July 19, the School Committee, and members from the community expressed their enthusiasm about this exciting opportunity. 

 

School Committee member James DiPisa reflected on his time spent at Mount Everett with partners from the Transcend program in June.

 

"This is a great opportunity and I'm glad to be part of this cohort," he said. "I enjoyed sitting down with the partners from Transcend and reflecting with members from our community. It was great to be in one room where we could talk about what would be best for our students."