The Brien Center Appoints New CBHC Division Director

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Brien Center announced the appointment of Lindsay Morin Ciepiela, LICSW, as the organization's new Community Behavioral Health Center (CBHC) Division Director. 
 
Lindsay joins The Brien Center with experience in behavioral health program development and leadership. Most recently, she served as Vice President of Outpatient Services at the Center for Human Development (CHD), where she worked for many years. In that role, she led the successful implementation of CHD's CBHC program, which included mobile crisis intervention and crisis stabilization services. She also played a key role in launching six behavioral health urgent care centers, significantly expanding access to critical mental health services across the region.
 
A Pittsfield resident, Lindsay, is looking forward to serving the community she calls home. She brings not only a wealth of professional experience, but also a deep personal commitment to the region.
 
"We are excited to welcome Lindsay to The Brien Center," said Diana L. Knaebe, President and CEO. "Her expertise in crisis services, program implementation, and outpatient leadership will strengthen our CBHC model and expand access to timely, community-based behavioral health care. Lindsay's local roots and dedication to this community make her an ideal fit for this role."
 
Lindsay shared her enthusiasm for the new position.
 
"I am grateful for the opportunity to join The Brien Center and contribute to an organization so deeply committed to behavioral health,"she said. "I look forward to sharing what I've learned throughout my career and learning from my new colleagues as we work together to serve Berkshire County."
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Pittsfield Teacher on Leave for Allegedly Repeating Slurs

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A Herberg Middle School teacher was put on leave after allegedly repeating homophobic and racial slurs used by a student. 

The teacher was reportedly describing a classroom incident when the slurs were repeated. On Wednesday, the Pittsfield Public Schools Human Resources department confirmed that an 8th-grade teacher at the middle school was placed on leave this week. 

The complaint was publicly made last week by parent Brett Random, who is the executive director of Berkshire County Head Start. 

On her personal Facebook page, she said her daughter reported that her math teacher, "used extremely offensive language including both a racial slur (N word) and a homophobic slur (F word) and then reportedly tried to push other students to repeat those words later in the day when students were questioning her on her behavior."

"While I appreciate that school administrators have begun addressing the situation, this is bigger than one incident. It raises serious questions about the culture within our schools and what students may be experiencing from adults they're supposed to trust," Random wrote.

"This moment should be used to take a hard look at how we're supporting responsive teaching, anti-racism, respect and creating truly inclusive classroom environments."

Her original post was made on April 30. On May 2, she reported that interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips and School Committee members Ciara Batory and Sarah Muil promptly responded and recognized the seriousness of the situation. 

"We are aware of allegations involving a staff member at Herberg Middle School and take concerns about derogatory and discriminatory language very seriously," Phillips wrote in an email to iBerkshires. "We recognize the impact this type of language has on students and families, and our priority is maintaining a safe and respectful learning environment while we conduct a fair and thorough review. Because this is a personnel matter, we cannot share additional details at this time."

The Berkshire Eagle, which first reported on the incident, identified the teacher as Rebecca Nitsche, and the teacher told the paper over the phone, "All I can tell you is it's not how it appears." Nitsche told the paper she repeated the words a student used while reporting the incident to another teacher because officials needed to know it happened. 

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