No Merger in Berkshire County MA of High Schools...but Some Comments from me and many on the Great Barrington Community Forum FB group (plus a Biz Networking Event Today in Torrington CT..come one, come all!)

Helpful to have this forum to hear a bit more. I've been hoping for people with a positive, open-minded nature to pull together for parents at each stage of the journey, well before formal public education and right on through. I will put this on my blog Livfully.org which I have done for over a decade to 'fill in gaps and create a greater sense of community, sharing many resources such as The Lakeville Journal coverage (tricornernews.com which is trying to close its $10K gap to reach a $100K match by Halloween so maybe more of MA can support that neighborly effort which also summarizes many of the SalisburyForum.org talks and deals with housing concerns and more for over 125 years! Plus there are online resources of back copies and current ones too with a print subscription but that's separate from the donation drive. For Fun and learning there's a business expo in Torrington CT today from 4-7pm for free sponsored by the NW Chamber so see their site. but it's at Veras Romas.

There could be more estabilished groups (volunteer or some paid to map out numbers of what it takes to have good learning programs and family support (even housing, transportation, food and energy help etc) to make ends meet and even excel at each stage of the parenting game...from pre-conception and living in safe, healthy relationships and housing with social support networks on through to going to Pre-K and Kindergarten.

If kids do well (along with their parents, whether living together or apart or a guardian or two etc) when tbey are young with healthy growth, outdoor time and play, socialization and friendly gatherings for songs, stories, games and so on, the stage can be set for more formal learning (hopefully with plenty of the fun mixed in and many talents in the arts enjoyed collectively...a bit like what Scouts offered but much better supervised and 'on campus' until everyone really knows who's who and can trust a plan will be followed for outings, safety and supervision.

Okay so back to the school ideas, there's nothing stopping folks from having online forums 'at least' and people calling one another to help new families and others onboard to the social scene and options to connect through community, faith, civic, sports and arts programs...but no one usually 'steps up'. If there are recreation committees as there are in the NWCT area towns, that can be easier. But again unless families are invited in personally many kids may miss out. So more liasons would help and ways for each student to be supported (and parent in their own right to help them get involved with their kids learning and extracurricular programs. SOAR in Salisbury offers an array of after school programming. Sports are usually strong and the NWCT corner towns join together to get more kids involved.

went to three high schools in CT, the local one in Falls Village then one in New Haven and one in Fairfield CT. The latter had 2K students as did Vassar in Poughkeepsie which I went to for 4 years (with 2 semesters off along the way, but I got to socialize some with those on campus during one of those and visited many on a cross country trip along with family duing the other. So that was a big deal and I feel all kids should get to New Haven to see the Green and understand the coastline is there for Long Island Sound.

They should also have a dozen trips to NYC during Grade7-12 to help them feel they are part of that arena (and Vassar's lovely to see too with its Art Gallery and lovely trees on campus) and they have more ties with Dutchess Community College as well. So plenty of options for learning compared to 40 years ago when I went through the schools. Tech is king so again that digital divide needs closing and shoring up so more people feel competent using that.

Toastmasters.org could be used by all to tune into civil discourse... sharing and listening, working together and having support whether from one other or a group to work through situations of running and timing a meeting to help stay on track. With people skills, mediation and exploring options can be a key skill for more to learn so people get the benefit for information, collaborations and much more.

Their should be PTOs (or PTAs) or some kind of program like that for more to join alongside parents, teachers and others in nurturing kids talents, interests, fundraising and so on...all with an eye toward checking for basic safety but not precluding people for no reason.

Thanks for letting me share and the NWCT area benefits in many ways from the Sheffield and Grt Barrington Communities (as does Torrington which has The Warner Theatre and Kids Play across the street plus a renowned ballet company and many other dance programs and lots more. Communiting an hour and growing networks isn't much harder than riding subways can kids can do that from age 12 and up on their own in NYC..(not that I think that's ideal so hopefully in groups and with adults taking turns getting kids to where they need to go is my hope.) Okay so happy to help with any of this and want to pass more info along to those who'd benefit and want to network. It does take one or two folks here and there from each town then the connections can flow more readily.