Clark Art Hosts Opening Lecture, Walking Tour on Ground/Work 2025

07:42AM / Tuesday, July 15, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Clark Art Institute celebrates the opening of its newest sculpture exhibition, "Ground/work 2025," with a free walking tour and conversations with each of the artists.

The opening is Saturday, July 19, and starts at 11 a.m. with a lecture by exhibition curator Glenn Adamson exploring the theme of craft and its different cultural expressions.

The talk also features recent photography highlighting the round-the-clock experience of appreciating the works of art across the Clark's grounds, and a question-and-answer session. This free event takes place in the Clark's Manton Research Center auditorium.

At 2 p.m., the Clark presents a free walking tour of the outdoor sculpture exhibition. Each artist will be stationed beside their work to present a 10- to 15-minute talk with Adamson. There is a 15-minute window (with two exceptions) between each talk, providing time to walk between sites.

The walking tour schedule is:

2 p.m.: Introduction at the Senosiain sculpture (Schow Pond)
2:05–2:20: Javier Senosiain
2:35–2:50.: Aboubakar Fofana
3:05–3:20: Laura Ellen Bacon
3:35–3:50: Milena Naef
4:00–4:15: Hugh Hayden
4:20–4:35: Akiyama
4:35–4:45: Closing remarks

Note: tour attendees must be able to walk the trails, which cover varied terrain. Because of limited cart availability, the Clark is not able to make special accessibility accommodations for this event. Those unable to participate in the walking tour are encouraged to watch the video tour of Ground/work 2025, which will be made available this summer.

In the case of inclement weather, the artists will offer a panel discussion with Adamson in the Manton Research Center auditorium. For more information, visit clarkart.edu/events.

Tags: Clark Art,

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Letter: Incomplete Picture from Greylock School Committee

Letter to the Editor06:30PM / Wednesday, October 28, 2026

To the Editor:

At the October Mount Greylock School Committee meeting, there was much celebration over the student growth percentiles (SGP) from last year's MCAS test data (Spring 2026). Growth is worth celebrating. But I worry the meeting, and the coverage of it, left families and our community with an incomplete picture of how our students are doing in math.

"Growth" sounds like it means scores went up, but that isn’t quite what SGP measures. SGP compares each student to students in the state who scored about the same the year before, then ranks how they did this year against that group. If a whole group of similar students decreases, the student who decreases the least can still earn a high growth percentile. A strong SGP tells us our students did better than their peers who scored similarly the year before. It doesn't tell us whether they are at grade level.

For example, the current 6th grade class at Williamstown Elementary School (WES) has decreased in their grade-level math proficiency every year since their 3rd grade MCAS. In 2024, 64 percent of the class was meeting expectations; in 2025 48 percent were at grade level, and in 2026 only 33 percent of their class met grade-level expectations. Our current WES 5th grade class follows a similar trend, with 48 percent meeting grade-level math expectations last year vs 56 percent meeting expectations in 2025 when they were in 3rd grade.

Not every class follows this pattern; our current 7th graders gained to 62 percent last year. But seeing entire classes decrease is something that deserves our attention.

Growth comparisons across the state provide useful information, but they do not tell the complete story. We also need to look at where our students are in terms of grade-level proficiency and how those numbers are changing from year to year within the Mt. Greylock school district. This will be our first year with the math interventionist role filled at WES and our second year with the new i-Ready curriculum.

As we watch whether these changes are working, I hope the School Committee will discuss proficiency alongside growth in its public meetings, so our community can see the full picture. Growth matters, but it isn’t enough if fewer of our kids are reaching grade level each year.

Sincerely,

Jenna Hasenkampf
Williamstown, Mass.

Hasenkampf is a parent of WES students in Grades 2 and 4.

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