Toy Library Coming to Pittsfield's Onota Lake

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Wahconah High senior plans to build a toy library at Onota Lake Beach to foster community and benefit kids.

On Tuesday, the Park Commission supported Alexandra Bills' toy library proposal as part of her National Honors Society individual service project.  She hopes to see it come to fruition by April, utilizing donated materials and the help of her father for construction.

"I wanted to create a toy library like the other examples in Berkshire County from the sled library to the book libraries," she explained. "But I wanted to make it toys for Onota Lake because a lot of kids forget their toys or some kids can't afford toys."

She proposed that it be located on the right side of the staircase at the public beach.  The student will ask a local company to donate lumber for the project, build it with her father who has carpentry experience, and have friends and family members provide toys to fill it.

"I would be checking on it weekly if not daily in the summer to pick up toys," she added. "But there also will be a sign to have 'pick a toy, leave a toy, please pick up after yourself’ so kids can also learn that as well."

Members of the National Honor Society, which is one of the longest-standing and most recognized co-curricular student organizations in the U.S., must fulfill a community service requirement to participate.

Bills pointed out that there will be no rough edges on the structure and it will be child-height so they can access it.  The library will sit on a sturdy surface such as pavers, be affixed to a structure so that it stays in place, and will be stored during the winter time.

Late last year, a sled library was OKed for Clapp Park and came to fruition soon after.  Lending libraries are said to be popular pieces of pubic infrastructure that benefit the community.

• The commission voted to change its meeting time from 7 p.m. to 6 p.m.
   
• The bid for the restoration of Springside Pond was awarded to William. J. Keller and Sons Construction and work will begin in the late spring or early summer.  Plans include sediment removal, dam repair, an elevated boardwalk, and a paved path for accessibility, and are funded by the American Rescue Plan Act.
   
• The bid for the Taconic High School track was awarded to Mountain View Landscapes and it will be fully reconstructed this spring.

State Education Officials Visit Pittsfield on 413 Day

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
05:19AM / Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike chats with youngsters in the Boys & Girls Club Children's Center.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — State education officials stopped in Pittsfield and North Adams as a part of Monday's "413 Day" tour to highlight early education and early college opportunities. 

At the Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires child care center in Pittsfield, Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike heard from community-based preschool educators about workforce needs and the impact of the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative. Some credited the program for creating an official connection between early education and public school. 

Zrike, only 11 days in his position, said having kids come through the elementary school doors with a powerful preschool or early childhood experience is "significant." Last year, as part of a multi-year initiative, the Pittsfield Public Schools were awarded $250,000 through the CPPI to expand access to preschool for 3-and 4-year-olds across the city.

"We know that early childhood educators are woefully underpaid in many places. We also know that the supports and training so that we can retain some of the quality people is something we've got to continue to work on to enhance the quality, but we're off to, I think, a good start," Zrike said. 

"And I come today to learn from another community and to better understand the infrastructure that you built here in Pittsfield." 

Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said what the district really wants is for students to come into kindergarten ready, and readiness goes beyond academic skills.  

"It's very much a social emotional readiness," she said. 

"It's ready to learn, which means knowing how to cut, knowing how to walk in line, knowing how to share, and I think those are the pieces through early education where it's important for us to partner so that when the handoff comes, we are ready. It's important for us to approach this as a continuum. Not just we are pre-K through 12. No, we are a community continuum, all of us focused on the support of our students." 

Mayor Peter Marchetti said part of this, to him, is creating a level playing field for all students to start in, "And if we can create that field at 3 years old, rather than third grade, we're miles ahead of it."