DESE Office of School Monitoring to Visit MGRSD

01:48PM / Friday, April 05, 2024Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — During the week of May 13, 2024, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's Office of Public School Monitoring (PSM) will conduct a Tiered Focused Monitoring Review of Mount Greylock Regional School District.

The Office of Public School Monitoring visits each district and charter school every three years to monitor compliance with federal and state special education and civil rights regulations. Areas of review related to special education include student assessments, determination of eligibility, the Individualized Education Program (IEP) Team process, and IEP development and implementation. Areas of review related to civil rights include bullying, student discipline, physical restraint, and equal access to school programs for all students.

In addition to the onsite visit, parent outreach is an important part of the review process. The review chairperson from the Office of Public School Monitoring will send all parents of students with disabilities an online survey that focuses on key areas of their child's special education program. Survey results will contribute to the development of a report. During the onsite review, the Office of Public School Monitoring will interview the chairperson(s) of the district's Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). Other onsite activities may include interviews of district staff and administrators, reviews of student records, and onsite observations.

Parents and other individuals may call Michelle Hennessey-Kowalchek, Public School Monitoring Chairperson, at (413) 314-6709 to request a telephone interview. If an individual requires an accommodation, such as translation, to participate in an interview, the Department will make the necessary arrangements.

Within approximately 60 business days after the onsite visit, the review chairperson will provide the district with a report with information about areas in which the district meets or exceeds regulatory requirements and areas in which the district requires assistance to correct or improve practices. The public will be able to access the report at http://www.doe.mass.edu/psm/tfm/reports/.

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Williamstown Moves Annual Town Meeting Back to Elementary School

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:39PM / Saturday, January 17, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Town Meeting will be held at Williamstown Elementary School for the first time since 2019 after a unanimous vote by the Select Board last Monday night.

The board voted 4-0 to move the annual meeting back to the Church Street school after it was held at Mount Greylock Regional School the last four years.

Twice, in 2020 and 2021, the meeting was held outdoors at Williams College's Weston Field during the height of the pandemic.

Technically, the 2022 meeting was scheduled for WES, but by the time it was convened, everyone who attended knew that the first order of business would be a motion to adjourn to a couple of weeks later at Mount Greylock to take advantage of the larger gym.

That gym was home to the meeting the next three years.

Board members discussed whether to move the May meeting back to WES and closer to the center of the town's population made sense.

"It would be nice to get a younger generation participating," Shana Dixon said. "A two-minute walk down the street as opposed to an eight-minute drive to Mount Greylock makes a difference, a big difference."

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