Colrain Central School News

Just a reminder that updated information can always be found at our website: https://colrain.mohawktrailschools.org/ and our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/colraincentral

• The Scholastic Book Fair is coming next week. The PTO is sponsoring the Scholastic Book Fair during conferences next week. The book fair will be set up in the library and will be open for browsing and wishlist creation on Wednesday. Then it will be open for shopping during conferences on Thursday and Friday. PLEASE NOTE: The book fair will not be open for business (purchasing) during school hours. If you would like to purchase some books for your child, please be sure to do so when you attend conferences, as that is the only time the book fair will be open for shopping.

• If you have a child who will be 3 on or before August 31st and are interested in enrolling them in our preschool program, registration packets are now available. Our Preschool Open House will be held on Friday, March 28th from 9:30-10:30. Please see the flyer below for more information.

• If you have a child who will be 5 on or before August 31st and are interested in enrolling them in our Kindergarten program, registration packets are now available. Our Kindergarten Open House will be held on Friday, March 28th from 10:30-11:30. Please see the flyer below for more information.

• I'm happy to be able to share that I have finally been able to get the new Colrain Central School Facebook page developed. Search for "Colrain Central School" in order to be able to like and follow us, and see what your students are up to!

Sustainability Study continues to seek community input

March 10, 2025. The Sustainability Study Steering Committee is continuing the process of seeking input from community members about the five options under consideration to make education in the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont regional school districts more sustainable. A series of community meetings are being held including a presentation followed by an opportunity for discussion of the findings and the pros and cons of each option. Community members, parents, students, school staff, and elected officials are encouraged to attend.

The five options that are being discussed at the meetings are:

1. No Change. Examine the status quo with projections into the near future if the districts remain as they are currently. No school closures.
2. Districts Merge. Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School Districts become a single PK-12 regional school district with 8 towns. No school closures.
3. Move 6th Grade. Move students to Mohawk Trail Regional School (MTRS), making it a grade 6-12 school with a 6-8 middle school. All elementary schools become PK-5. No school closures.
4. Move 6th grade (and possibly 5th) to MTRS and close one to three elementary schools. The three scenarios to be considered are closing one elementary school, closing two elementary schools, or having all elementary schools consolidate at the Buckland-Shelburne Elementary site.
5. Single Campus. All schools combine onto a single PreKindergarten-12 campus at MTRS.

Two meetings have already been held (one virtual and one at Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School), with over 90 people attending. All remaining meetings have both an in-person and virtual option. Upcoming meeting dates/times are:

● Wednesday, 3/19, Hawlemont Regional School, 6:30-8 pm, in person with Zoom link

● Thursday, 3/20, Mohawk Trail Regional School, 6:30-8 pm, in person with Zoom link

● Wednesday, 3/26, Colrain Central School, 6:30-8 pm, in person with Zoom link

In addition to community meetings, Superintendent Sheryl Stanton, Mohawk Trail School Committee chair Martha Thurber, and Hawlemont School Committee vice chair Kenneth Bertsch are providing updates to select boards and town finance committees throughout March. The remaining meetings will be held on these dates (a meeting for Charlemont and Hawley already occurred):

● March 10, 6:00 pm, Shelburne (remote only) - Zoom Link

● March 17, 7:00 pm, Ashfield/Plainfield (at Sanderson Academy)

● March 18, 5:00 pm, Heath/Colrain (at Jacob’s Road Municipal Center)

● March 25, 5:30 pm, Buckland (at Buckland Town Hall)

Questions posed at meetings so far have focused on educational programming, finances, staffing levels, impact on towns, transportation, demographic patterns, and enrollment trends. Community members are encouraged to read more about these topics by reviewing the Resources section of the 2districts8towns.org website. It is important to emphasize that no decisions have been made, and input from stakeholders will be considered as the Sustainability Study Steering Committee weighs preferred options. The next Steering Committee meeting is scheduled for April 3, 5-6:30pm at MTRS.

For more information, contact Project Manager Jake Eberwein, jakeeberwein@gmail.com

As a Title-I Math Interventionist, I support our mathematicians in two different ways.

• Selected students receive supplemental support through pull-out intervention. These services depend on need and instruction are based on assessment results and monitoring progress. This pull-out intervention is in addition to the math students are learning in their classrooms. Students are identified for potential supplemental instruction by a combination of assessment results and teacher recommendations. We also consider care-giver recommendations. Students are assessed three times per year: in the fall, winter, and spring. The assessments are interview-style and involve only thinking about the math - there is no pencil or paper.

• Grade level math support is provided through small group instruction during ‘math time’ in the classroom. When I come in during grade level math instruction, I work with any students in the class that may have difficulty with the on grade level curriculum. As an interventionist in this setting, I may work with a small group of students. While the math students' learning is the same as their grade-level peers, the small group allows students to have quick access to me and an opportunity to have some “think time” without pressure. The pace of instruction is also able to be adjusted depending on the students’ needs.

3/19-3/21: PTO Scholastic Book Fair

3/20 & 3/21: 12:30 dismissals: Conferences

3/26: 6:30: BERK 12 Sustainability meeting (in person and virtually)

3/28: 9:30: PK registration (no school for current PK students)

3/28 10:30: K registration (no school for current K students)

12:30 dismissals: 3/20, 3/21

1:50 dismissals: 3/26