How to Parent Healthy Kids in the Digital Age

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Pine Cobble School will host How to Parent Healthy Kids in the Digital Age: Supporting Connection, Resilience, and Critical Thinking, a presentation for parents of elementary and middle school kids who are seeking developmentally appropriate guidance on preparing their kids to handle the complexities of digital life.
 
The evening will start with a presentation by educator, author, and parenting expert Betty Ray, who will share findings from her years of research as head of innovation at the George Lucas Educational Foundation and chief impact officer at Pandora's Way. 
 
The event is intended for parents and other caregivers of elementary and middle school students who are eager to take proactive steps for healthy digital engagement. Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions, and will leave with several actionable steps they can implement right away.
 
Following the presentation will be a Q+A with Betty, as well as Pine Cobble Head of School Dr. Jill Romans, and developmental psychologist Scott Burg.
 
How to Parent Healthy Kids in the Digital Age: Supporting Connection, Resilience, and Critical Thinking will be held on March 5, 2026 at '62 Center for Performing Arts on the Williams College Campus,  Williamstown, MA. Doors open at 5:45 pm and the program starts at 6 and runs until 7:30 pm.
 
"I am delighted that we can come together as a broader community and discuss this important topic for our youth through the lens of child development," Romans said. "Betty's focus on rites of passage is helpful in understanding the process for nurturing agency and empowerment for our students as they navigate an increasingly digital world. We must be intentional in how we introduce children to this environment and ensure they have adequate skills to navigate digital platforms in healthy ways."
 
Attendees will discover:
  • How to plan for the developmental shifts from childhood to adolescence.
  • How digital media is designed to engage the developing adolescent brain
  • A practical approach to introducing digital media and sustaining healthy development.

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Williamstown Planning Board, Consultants Discuss Subdivision Bylaw

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Planning Board met recently with consultants who are helping the body develop amendments to the town's subdivision bylaw.
 
In a conversation set to continue at a special Planning Board meeting on Tuesday, April 28, representatives of Northampton architecture and civil engineering firms Dodson and Flinker and Berkshire Design Group outlined some of the decision points for the board as it develops a major revision of the bylaw.
 
Unlike the zoning bylaw, for which the Planning Board makes recommendations to town meeting, the subdivision bylaw is under the direct authority of the five-member elected board.
 
The Subdivision Control Law, Article 170 in the town code, was first adopted by the Planning Board in 1959. The current board is looking to do the first major revision to the rules that "guide the development of land into lots served with adequate roads and utilities," since 1993.
 
The town hired the Northampton consultants with the proceeds of a grant administered by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission.
 
Dillon Sussman, a senior associate at Dodson and Flinker, laid out the scope of the project and the objectives of the board as conveyed to the consultants.
 
"What we understand of your goals for the project is to make small subdivision projects more economically feasible," Sussman said. "We've heard that you think that small subdivision projects are more likely … that there's not much land remaining [in Williamstown] for large projects. And you've had some experience with a small subdivision project that was difficult to fit in your current subdivision regulations."
 
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