Clark Art Hosts Free Evening For Educators

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WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — On Thursday, May 1, the Clark Art Institute hosts a free creative professional development event for educators from across the region. 
 
Participants will explore ways to strengthen their students' social and emotional learning through the arts. Evening for Educators is recommended for Pre-K through Grade 12 educators, including school counselors and administrators. Educators can earn professional development points through participation. The program runs from 5 pm to 8:15 pm.
 
The evening commences with a keynote address by Käthe Swaback, the Massachusetts Cultural Council's program officer for creative youth development and health. Swaback is a visual artist, art therapist, and arts administrator with an M.A. in expressive therapy.
 
A series of workshops, developed by local educators who are members of the Clark's new Teacher Advisory Group, provide educators with inspiring methods to enliven social and emotional learning in the classroom. Participants can choose to attend two of the five workshops, which range from gallery engagement activities to hands-on art making and align with state standards.
 
The event begins in the Clark's auditorium, located in the Manton Research Center.
 
Program Details:
 
5 pm: Arrival and Check-in
 
5:15 pm: Keynote Address
Presented by Käthe Swaback, Massachusetts Cultural Council
 
5:55 pm: Complimentary Buffet Dinner
 
6:45- 8:15 pm: Workshop Series
 
Select two:
 
Artful Yoga
  • Engaging with Art to Build Self-Management and Relationship Skills
  • Exploring Empathy through Sculpture
  • Handmade Books as Self Portraits
  •  Art-Inspired Letter writing, Storytelling, and Empathy
Advance registration is strongly encouraged. To register, visit clarkart.edu/events or email Dana Schildkraut, School Specialist, at dschildkraut@clarkart.edu. The program, all supplies, and dinner are provided free of charge to all professional educators.

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Williamstown Select Board Plans Off-Camera Evaluation of Town Manager

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Select Board plans to take extraordinary measures to avoid having its discussion of the town manager's performance recorded by the town's Public, Educational and Government cameras.
 
At its Sept. 28 meeting, the board decided to hold a special meeting in a room not covered by WilliNet cameras to complete its annual evaluation process of Town Manager Robert Menicocci.
 
Chair Peter Beck said that while the evaluation is "absolutely" to be conducted in an open meeting, the board could follow a process similar to the off site, unrecorded meetings that past Select Boards have characterized as "retreats," a term not contemplated by or included in the commonwealth's Open Meeting Law.
 
The current board met on June 29 for what it characterized as a "planning session" where no formal votes were taken. That meeting was held outside of Town Hall, at the new fire station on Main Street, in a room equipped with audio and video recording equipment that the Select Board chose not to use.
 
At the Sept. 28 meeting, one board member indicated that an unrecorded meeting was preferable to discuss the annual evaluation of the one town employee supervised by the board.
 
"I'd like to do it without all the Willinet stuff," Stephanie Boyd said in a discussion toward the end of a two-hour meeting. "I think it's more conducive to conversation."
 
With the board expected to meet just once in October — its "regular" meeting date coincides with Indigenous Peoples Day on Oct. 12 — Beck suggested that the panel could find a date for a special meeting, suggesting the third Monday of the month, Oct. 19.
 
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