Berkshire County Education Task Force
Post date: Nov 15, 2016 3:14:12 PM
As a follow-up to the Save-the-Date notice sent earlier, we would like to officially invite you to the upcoming full network meeting:
Berkshire Compact for Education – Full Network Meeting
Friday, December 2, 2016
9:00am-12:00pm (optional networking lunch to follow)
MCLA's Church Street Center Social Hall
You’re invited to join us for coffee, pastries and networking at 9:00am. The meeting will start sharply at 9:30am, given a very full agenda.
This is a must attend meeting. The Berkshire County Education Task Force will be revealing their Phase I study on K12 education county-wide.
Berkshire County Education Task Force: We are pleased to announce that the full network meeting will be dedicated, in large part, to the Berkshire County Education Task Force (BCETF). As you may recall, the issue of K12 organization county-wide was raised and discussed at several Compact meetings - recognizing how critical this conversation is to the future of our region. As a result, the BCETF was formed and is composed of representatives from across the region, as has been reported at recent network meetings. The Phase I study, supported by the UMass Donahue Institute, has been completed and is ready to be shared. Presenting and discussing the findings of this study will be a highlight and priority of this December’s meeting.
If you can join us, please register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/compact-for-education-network-meeting-tickets-28844870785
Subcommittee work: The three subcommittees (Early Childhood, Grades 3-12, and Workforce Development) continue to refine work plans and advance activities/actions. This is where the ground-floor work of the Compact occurs (roll up your sleeves and act!). Brief updates from each subcommittee are provided at the bottom of this email. We encourage all network members to connect with one or more subcommittees, if you have not already, and/or refer a friend/colleague.
Membership: We continue (are pleased) to welcome and invite new faces to the Compact Network. Feel free to refer along a friend or a colleague and we'll add them to our list.
Documents: We continue to attempt to archive all historical documents (meeting agendas and presentations) online. We encourage you to visit us at: www.mcla.edu/compact
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The Berkshire Compact for Education is a group of regional civic, education and business leaders who seek to ensure the wellbeing of each individual and the strength of our economy and community by raising the educational access, aspirations and attainment of all Berkshire County residents.
This remains critical to our region given that:
The Berkshires lag behind the state in educational attainment.
Educational attainment leads to higher earnings and lower unemployment.
Over 2/3 of future jobs will require an educational credential.
A city's (or community's) economic success is greatly linked to the level of educational attainment of its residents.
Subcommittee Efforts:
Early Childhood: This subcommittee works in tandem with the Berkshire United Way’s Early Education Impact Council, Chapter 1, and the national Campaign for Grade Level Reading to improve outcomes for young children in the Berkshires from birth to age 8. The subcommittee’s goals are to increase the number of children enrolled in high quality early education, to increase the number of early education programs at QRIS level three or higher, to increase the number of families of young children involved in home visiting programs, and to increase the number of students reading at grade level by Grade 3. Furthermore, the group has been deeply involved in exploring ways to engage parents/families, better collect and use data to make decisions, and advocate for state level policy change (such as access to programs and pay for early child educators). Please contact Doug McNally to join:d.mcnally@mcla.edu
Grades 3-12: This subcommittee is focused on efforts in Grades 3-12 to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the skills, knowledge, dispositions, and aspirations to successfully enter college and the workforce. Currently, the group is focused on identifying and supporting middle/high school students who need additional support to place them on a solid career/college trajectory. Using data provided by schools and programs across the county, and coupled with qualitative methods, the subcommittee is working to find ways to learn from and scale forward new and existing mentor programs, individualized support systems, and agency outreach mechanisms into alignment with our goals. Specifically, the subcommittee is planning a pilot mentoring program at Drury in North Adams. Please contact Bill Ballen to join: williamballen270@hotmail.com
Workforce Development: This subcommittee has determined that the local workforce needs more people seeking and obtaining college degrees at all levels, and that these people need to live, work and play here. The outward migration of the younger workforce is also a major part of the county’s skills gap. Specifically, the subcommittee remains focused on population loss and language barriers. Promising practices/priorities include reaching out to businesses to develop strategic internships for college students that build on the BRCEB's internship programs. Please contact Bill Mullholland to join: wmullholl@berkshirecc.edu