Hoosac Valley Regional School District to Undergo Tiered Focused Monitoring Review

08:00AM / Friday, January 03, 2025Print Story | Email Story

CHESHIRE, Mass. — During the week of Jan. 6, 2025, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (DESE) Office of Language Acquisition (OLA) will conduct a Tiered Focused Monitoring

Review of the Hoosac Valley Regional School District.

This review is part of DESE's ongoing efforts to monitor and ensure compliance with federal and state laws and regulations concerning English Learner Education (ELE) programs.

The Tiered Focused Monitoring Review is a comprehensive process that examines various aspects of a district's ELE program. The review will focus on areas such as:

Student assessments for English learners
Identification and placement of English learners
Parent and community involvement
Curriculum and instructional practices
Student support services
Faculty, staff, and administration licensure requirements
Program planning, evaluation, and recordkeeping

The review is conducted every six years for each district and charter school to assess their adherence to relevant laws and ensure continuous improvement in serving English learners.

In addition to the onsite review, parent outreach is a critical component of the process. The Hoosac Valley Regional School District will distribute a survey to parents of students whose records will be

examined. The survey seeks feedback on key aspects of their child's English learner education program. Survey results will be reviewed by OLA and included in the final monitoring report.

Parents or community members who wish to participate further can request a telephone interview with the Review Chairperson, Samantha Kodak, by contacting her at Samantha.k.kodak@mass.gov.

DESE will also accommodate individuals who need assistance, such as translation services, to ensure full participation.

Following the onsite visit, DESE will issue a report within approximately 60 business days. This report will outline areas where the district meets or exceeds regulatory requirements, as well as areas requiring improvement.

The final report will be made publicly available at https://www.doe.mass.edu/ele/cpr/.

For more information or to participate in the review, contact Samantha Kodak at Samantha.k.kodak@mass.gov.

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Cheshire Urges Voters to Check Status, Deliberates New Fire Sign

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
04:06PM / Monday, August 24, 2026

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Voters wishing to cast ballots in next week's primary and the general election should check their voting status: the town clerk's office reported about 900 inactive voters in July.

Town Clerk Whitney Flynn last week was announcing the state primary election date, Tuesday, Sept. 1 with early voting being:

Saturday, August 22: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday, August 24: 3 to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, August 25: 3 to 5 p.m.
Wednesday, August 26: 3 to 5 p.m.

She told the Selectmen that her office would be doing voter testing on Saturday, which was open for residents to observe.

In June, during the annual town meeting, Flynn reported there were more than 2,500 registered voters and on Tuesday, said more than a third have become inactive. The town's voting list is updated annually and those who have not responded to the annual town census are placed on "inactive" status. And those who don't vote in two consecutive state/federal elections while inactive are removed from the voter list.

"I encourage everyone to check their voter registration status. Nine hundred people were made inactive on the voter list," said Flynn. "It doesn't mean they can't come to vote. It just means that if they didn't fill out that continuous and concurrent residency form by signature that I sent out all those postcards for."

Residents can contact her or return the inactive voter cards she sent out by mail back in July to become active again or remove their name from the list. After the inactive postcards went out, Flynn said she received many back but still has around 500 inactive.

She urged voters to check their status online as some census cards were not verifiable. If you are inactive you can still vote, just be sure to have a document with your name and current residency when you arrive at the polls.

Flynn also added she is always looking for more poll workers.

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