Superintendent: strong school-year start, staffing gaps and a plan for DEI work

The Berkshire Hills Regional School District superintendent told the school committee March 29 that the school year opened strongly, citing successful traffic changes at arrival and dismissal, positive early compliance with a new personal-electronics policy and a recent community backpack giveaway. "We had a really successful start to the school year," the superintendent said, noting the donation of about 26 backpacks by the West Stockbridge Congregational Church and strong turnout from families.

The superintendent and multiple school leaders praised staff and singled out new hires, including Jordan Lane, identified in the meeting as the district’s new school counselor. Administrators said a soft launch of a cell-phone policy was effective: one administrator said, "I saw zero mobile telephones out" on the first full day, and staff will begin stricter enforcement after classroom meetings are complete.

But speakers emphasized continuing operational pressures. Cynthia, an administrator who reported on family outreach, said the district remains "still not fully staffed" for several para-professional positions and an administrative assistant, which affects recess, lunch and front-office coverage. Committee members discussed outreach options including a targeted job fair and better use of local hiring channels to attract applicants.

The superintendent reviewed findings from the district’s recent review of the 2021–24 District Improvement Plan and associated survey work. Summaries of the raw data — 35 respondents to the meeting's review exercise — showed perceived strengths in teacher and student engagement and in leadership structures such as instructional leadership teams, and suggested growth areas including clearer connections between the district’s "portrait of a graduate" and classroom curriculum. The superintendent said the district would move to more frequent check-ins (quarterly or semiannual) and produce both raw data and concise summaries for the committee and community.

Committee members raised website usability and communication as priorities. The superintendent said the district has signed a contract to redesign its site and intends to integrate ParentSquare as its primary communications and calendar host, with a plan to standardize menus and guardrails so building pages remain consistent.

On diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEI), the superintendent said the district had not identified a single candidate with the full range of skills sought and recommended shifting to a team-of-consultants approach rather than a single full-time hire. "We're moving from a person at this moment to a collection of consultants," the superintendent said, adding that the district would likely repurpose the salary and benefits of one position to fund that work. The superintendent warned the approach could complicate coherence and oversight but said it allows access to specialized expertise and that contracts were expected to be signed in the coming weeks.

The business portion of the meeting also included a status update on the MSBA (building project). The district’s architect and consultants continue to evaluate options — major renovation vs. new building locations — and are studying traffic improvements, including potential roundabouts and alternate access roads. The superintendent said the team expects to narrow options by late fall and to schedule a community forum and school open-house outreach before any decision.

The meeting closed with a brief public-comment exchange and routine committee business. Committee members said they would continue work on budget timelines, school-level deep dives planned for October and outreach to fill critical staff vacancies.