Berkshire Schools Awarded Early College Program Grants

08:22AM / Wednesday, January 08, 2025Print Story | Email Story

BOSTON — Bard College at Simon's Rock was awarded a $60,000 Early College Capacity Grant and Pittsfield High School and Taconic were both awarded $50,000 Early College Planning Grants with Berkshire Community College.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced that it is awarding $8 million in designated Early College grants to allow high school students to take college classes and earn college credit at no cost to them or their families. These funds will be

used to support schools and higher education institutions as they design new Early College programs, as well as expand existing programs to provide an estimated additional 2,300 seats, increase staffing and recruitment, and provide professional development. Early college programs are a key part of the administration's "Reimagining High School" initiative, ensuring Massachusetts students are prepared for college or careers when they graduate high school.

"Early College programs are great for our students and great for our economy. They allow students to get college credit while they're still in high school at no cost, making it more affordable for them to get their degree and preparing them to succeed in their careers," said Governor Maura Healey. "We're also strengthening our workforce by helping students graduate with the skills that are in demand by employers today. We're proud to be expanding Early College to more schools than ever."

The administration continues to expand designated Early College programs, increasing the number of students participating by nearly 2,000 since school year 2022-2023, a 31 percent increase. Further, the administration designated 16 new Early College program partnerships over the last two years. Over 9,000 students are expected to be supported this school year, stated a press release.

Massachusetts prioritizes participation by students historically underrepresented in higher education. The state's 12th

grade early college participants are majority Black and Latino and evenly split between low-income and non-low-income students. Early college participation increases college enrollment for all racial groups, but makes the biggest difference for Latino students who historically have been the least likely to matriculate to college, continued a press release.

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Neal Tours Berkshire Innovation Center as Pittsfield's Tech Economy Grows

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:38PM / Thursday, October 15, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. —Congressman Richard Neal visited the Berkshire Innovation Center Thursday to highlight $735,000 in federal funding secured for a new cybersecurity training and testing facility.

"The number one job of the federal government is to provide for the security of its people. I mean, we should never lose sight of that, whether it's China or Russia, every single day there are these belligerents that are attempting to infiltrate national security here in the United States, and we should not be naive about it," Neal said. "I mean, we can have an argument about proportionality; we can do a lot of different things, but not to miss the point of what they're trying to do every day."

The new cybersecurity facility will provide regional manufacturers and businesses with research and design equipment, specialized lab space, and training facilities and is planned to be housed in a to-be-redeveloped space across the street from the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC), located at 45 Woodlawn Ave.

The derelict property, formerly owned by General Electric, is now known as the William Stanley Business Park.

The project is a $7.2 million dollar investment from the state, $5.2 million from the tech collaborative, $2 million from bond funding secured by Neal, and $1 million that will be split into two phases: $500,000 for BIC to begin building and $500,000 for Myrias Optics to start production in Pittsfield, said Mayor Peter Marchetti.

BIC Executive Director Ben Sosne said manufacturers often highlight the need for help with cybersecurity, particularly in meeting the security requirements necessary to conduct business with General Dynamics and other major contractors.

Collaborators in the field and the public sector have recognized the need that has only grown since technology has advanced and is a great career opportunity, Sosne said.

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