CHESHIRE, Mass. — Senior Talia Rehill was recognized on Tuesday as Hoosac Valley High School's top scholar.

 

Rehill is this year's recipient of the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents Certificate of Academic Excellence.

 

"She brings a lot to the school community, a lot of positivity to the school community," said Superintendent Aaron Dean in making the presentation. "And I don't think the school will be will be the same without you, quite frankly. You definitely bring a lot of spirit and work hard and you're going go very far."

 

Rehill earned academic honors from the College Board National Recognition Programs, has taken dual enrollment classes at Williams College and Berkshire Community College and is a member of the National Honor Society. 

 

She's also president of the Leo Club, Student Council and the class of 2024, yearbook editor and participated in school musicals, World of Difference, the Athletic Leadership Council and the 84 Movement, a youth-focused state anti-tobacco group. Rehill is also a member of the track and field team and captain of the soccer team.  

 

Principal Colleen Byrd congratulated her on the honor and read some comments from her teachers, who called her a gifted scholar and an eager learner with a wide range of talents. One teacher described her as a social justice warrior who is kind and empathic; another that she is "brilliant, mature and confident. ...

 

"She makes me a better teacher through her thought-provoking questions and insights."

 

Rehill is planning to get a degree in political science and then, probably law school. 

 

"I've gotten to know Talia over the past couple of years. She is a fierce advocate," said Dean. "As I said to her mom earlier, she's got a lot of spunk."

 

The School Committee approved a districtwide improvement plan presented by Dean. In summary, the plan laid out three strategic objectives and matching goals.

 

The first objective sets high standards and expectations for partnerships with the community and local businesses through pathway and internship developments, and create better connections for families with needed services. 

 

Goals will include the family and community coordinator, updating internship and partnership policies as well ensuring communication with caregivers about high expectations for student progress and goals.   

 

The second seeks to promote student achievement and build teacher leadership capacity. 

 

"We're trying to get students to a point where they're driving the education and getting feedback, and explicit targeted feedback, about how they're doing and then what they need to do to grow," said Dean. "Getting students to apply their learning in meaningful ways using critical thinking and then developing a shared vision for continuous learning."

 

The superintendent said the classroom has become far more complex in that there are now seven or eight different levels of students than the two or three in years past.

 

"So that requires a lot of planning and a lot of work to figure out how we're going to get them to access the curriculum and how we're going to assess their products as well," he said.  

 

The third objective is to build high standards and expectations for inclusive practices to ensure access points into the curriculum for students at all levels. This would include specialized services, implicit bias training for teachers and creating a positive learning environment. 

 

Dean said he'd talked about multi-tier systems of support for students when he came to the district four or five years ago. It is basically a set of steps —- if the student doesn't respond, what's the next step, and learn how to respond to that. 

 

All three objectives would also be measured through data including student performance and survey responses from students, staff and guardians.

 

Michael Mucci complimented the summary, which he thought was easier to follow and offered specific objectives and goals. He asked that it transmitted to the select boards in Adams and Cheshire. Dean said it would be posted on the district website and that he has presented to the select boards in the past. He would make sure they received it. 

 

In other business, 

 

• The committee voted to enter into a contract with the Massachusetts Association of School Committees for an extensive review of its policies and governance for $7,500. MASC will work with the policy subcommittee over the next 18 to 24 months. 

 

• The committee approved a contract with the paraprofessional union, which will vote on Tuesday night. 

 

• Michael Mucci suggested the district begin a review of the regional agreement. The new agreement was voted in 2019 but work started in 2017. The review panel would consist of two members from the committee, one individual from each select board and  finance committee, a resident from each town, plus the superintendent. 

 

• Mucci was acting as chair because of the resignation Bethany DeMarco, who moved out of the district. The committee is looking for a representative from Cheshire and will interview interested candidates at its next meeting in January.