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District receives preliminary approval for genocide education grant; tutoring program shows early gains
Summary
The district said it has preliminary approval for a K–12 genocide education grant with UMass collaboration and reported positive early results from Ignite virtual tutoring (about $35,000 this year); staff will continue to collect assessment data.
Sarah, the district’s director of curriculum, instruction and professional development, told the Southern Berkshire Regional School Committee that the district has preliminary approval for a genocide education grant. The grant will support curriculum mapping for grades 5–12 with UMass resources and professional development for teachers.
"We have preliminary approval for the genocide education grant," Sarah said, and the district plans to work with UMass's institute and local partners to develop materials and take students to exhibits where appropriate.
Sarah also updated members on the Ignite tutoring partnership, describing it as high-dosage, virtual tutoring (15 minutes daily) that cost the district about $35,000 for services rendered from January through the end of the year. She said students have shown growth on ongoing assessments—DIBELS and the tutoring platform’s own checks—and staff are awaiting final alignment of assessment data.
Committee members asked about how the genocide education content aligns with Massachusetts frameworks and whether teachers and students had provided feedback on the tutoring. Sarah said the state frameworks begin in fifth grade and that tutors use a phonics-based curriculum aligned to assessments; staff reported generally positive feedback with some initial onboarding challenges.
What’s next: Staff will finalize curriculum maps and PD planning with UMass partners and will continue to track tutoring assessments and review results when DIBELS and platform data are complete.
