image description

Mount Greylock Making Lighting Improvements on Campus

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
Print Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The new field and track is not the only upgrade to Mount Greylock's outdoor athletic facilities this fall.
 
In addition to the new multisport grass field ringed by an eight-lane running track, the school is slated next month to have the lights at its current varsity soccer/lacrosse field retrofitted with new LED fixtures.
 
Interim Superintendent Joseph Bergeron said Thursday that the new lights will be mounted on the existing poles around John T. Allen Field.
 
Bergeron said the replacement project will be funded, "through a National Grid program where 50 percent of the cost is a grant and 50 percent comes over years through on-bill rebates/payments related to the cost savings associated versus the old bulbs."
 
After a payback period of about six years, the district will reap the full financial benefit of lower energy purchases associated with the LED bulbs, he said.
 
"The LEDs will save energy and provide more focused and better light with less light pollution," Bergeron said.
 
As for the new field, installers were on-site on Wednesday testing the output to make sure the fixtures are positioned properly to provide full coverage of the field.
 
The track is fully installed and ready to host meets this spring.
 
The sod on the infield is laid — and the unseasonably mild October weather can only help the grass take root. Several school personnel have said that they hope the field might be ready to host at least two lacrosse games — one boys and one girls — in the late spring of 2025.
 
Otherwise, the projected start date for the field is September 2025, in time for the next soccer season.

Tags: MGRS,   playing fields,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Mount Greylock School Committee Talks Elementary Math Instruction

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — In the shadow of a community-wide discussion about math instruction at Williamstown Elementary School, the Mount Greylock Regional School Committee Thursday heard a presentation about steps the district is taking to improve its program at both elementary schools.
 
Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Joelle Brookner talked with the committee about the district's move to the i-Ready math curriculum in grades K through 6 and how the first year of the curriculum's adoption already appears to be paying dividends.
 
Brookner first provided some background in how the district came to adopt the learning platform from publisher Curriculum Associates.
 
The process started when the district took a hard look at the pupils' performance in math and realized its former curriculum, Everyday Math, might need to be replaced.
 
Math instruction was a strong enough concern at the Williamstown school that its School Council this winter requested the addition of a full-time math interventionist to the faculty for the 2026-27 academic year.
 
Ultimately, that request did not make the cut when the administration produced a budget that was approved by the School Committee to send to town meetings in Williamstown and Lanesborough. But a group of concerned parents has announced its plan to make an amendment on the floor of the Williamstown annual town meeting Tuesday to add $120,000 to the town's assessment for the district in order to fund the position at WES.
 
At last Thursday's meeting, Brookner acknowledged the planned amendment and said that an interventionist, if added, would become "an integral part of the team" at the elementary school.
 
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories