Hoosac Valley Teacher Nominated for Outstanding Educator Award

08:00AM / Saturday, April 13, 2024Print Story | Email Story

Lindsay St. Pierre McGinnis is presented the Outstanding Educator Award in 2023 by MCLA President Jamie Birge.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — MCLA alumna Lindsay St. Pierre-McGinnis has been nominated for the 2024 Outstanding Educator Award by the Massachusetts State University System to be presented at the State House on April 25.

St. Pierre-McGinnis joins eight other educators who will be recognized for their teaching excellence, especially in the face of challenging situations, as well as their contributions to the communities in which they live and work.

St. Pierre-McGinnis received her master of education in 2008 from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and earned a second master's degree in conservation biology from Antioch University. St. Pierre-McGinnis began her career as a conservation biologist and found her passion for teaching after becoming a middle school science/math educator at Gabriel Abbott Memorial School in the town of Florida.

During her time at Abbott, she designed an environmental/outdoor curriculum which included an outdoor classroom with raised garden beds and spearheaded the school's first soccer program.

Currently, she shares her expertise and environmental activism with her students at Hoosac Valley Middle/High School in Cheshire. She has helped lead the establishment of a state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Innovation Pathway designation in environmental studies, designing curriculum in outdoor leadership, conservation stewardship, food science, and outdoor adventure. She continues to work with MCLA, partnering with the Environmental Studies Department to offer her students college credit for her environmental sustainability course. She has teamed up with colleagues and was awarded a $25,000 grant from the Henry P. Kendall Foundation to establish a sustainable garden program for the high school. She received the MCLA Educator Alumni Award last year.

In 1839, Massachusetts became the first state to recognize the importance of teacher-preparation programs with the establishment of normal schools that were free of charge to students who committed to teaching in the commonwealth's schools. These institutions that were designed specifically to educate school teachers have grown to become comprehensive state universities. Today, nine-member institutions educate students in multiple disciplines beyond education from business, humanities, and social sciences, to natural, formal, and applied sciences. Even with this expanded mission, the State Universities continue to educate over one-third of public school teachers in Massachusetts.

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NBSU Committee Open to Discussing Apportionment Changes

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
05:12AM / Friday, January 16, 2026

CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Clarksburg's partners in the North Berkshire School Union agreed to take a look at the assessment structure for the union's administration and the union agreement.

Town and school officials have questioned Clarksburg's share of administration costs, which is now more than 50 percent.

Select Board Chair Daniel Haskins presented the "super" NBSU School Committee last week with a proposal of a base contribution of 10 percent for each district except for Monroe, which would be 5 percent, and then a ratio based on enrollment.

"Over my four years on the Select Board, I've observed a steady increase in presented percentage that Clarksburg contributes to the North Berkshire School Union as our student enrollment has grown," he said. "The reason behind this proposed adjustment is straightforward: The North Berkshire School Union provides services for all member towns. These include oversight of the principals, management of school facilities, food services and special education programs."

He also pointed to the state reporting and reviews, preparation of school budgets, and meeting attendance.

"For example, the union is not attending five times as many school committee meetings for Clarksburg as it is for Savoy, nor is it overseeing three additional principals for Florida," he said. "While I fully acknowledge that the NBSU staff does spend more time on Clarksburg-related matters than those of the smaller towns, it is worth asking whether the current ratios accurately reflect the difference."

The five towns of Clarksburg, Florida, Monroe, Rowe and Savoy share the services of central office that includes the superintendent, assistant/special education director, information technology director, business administrator, support staff, supplies and rent and utilities for the space in North Adams.

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