Author to Speak at Ventfort Hall

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LENOX, Mass. — Author Michelle Young talks about the life of Rose Valland as a resistance spy working under the nose of Herman Gooring's art looting ring in her new book, "The Art Spy." 
 
The talk takes place on Aug. 26 at 4 pm. A tea will be served after Young's presentation.
 
According to a press release:
 
On Aug. 25, 1944 Rose Valland, Assistant Curator at the Jeu de Paume museum, found herself in a desperate situation. From the windows of the museum, where she had worked and ultimately spied, she could see the battle to liberate Paris around her. The Jeu de Paume in Paris, co-opted by Nazi leadership, was now the Germans' final line of defense. Find out how she became a hero of the French Resistance.
 
Michelle Young is an award-winning journalist, author, and professor whose writing and photography has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Hyperallergic, The Forward, and Narratively. She is a graduate of Harvard College in the History of Art and Architecture and holds a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, where she is a Professor of Architecture. She is the founder of the publication Untapped New York. She divides her time between New York City, Paris, and the Berkshires, Massachusetts.
 
Tickets are $45. Members receive a discount code for $5 off all ticket prices. Students 22 and under are $22. Ticket pricing includes access to the mansion throughout the day of this event from 10 am to 4 pm. Reservations are strongly encouraged as seats are limited. Walk-ins accommodated as space allows. For reservations visit https://gildedage.org/pages/calendar or call (413) 637-3206. Note that all tickets are nonrefundable and non-exchangeable. The historical mansion is located at 104 Walker St. in Lenox.
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Trifecta of Pittsfield School Projects Moving Forward

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Pittsfield Public Schools are moving forward with a middle school restructuring, closing an elementary school, and proposing to build a new consolidated facility in the West Side. 

Last Wednesday, the School Committee approved a $87,200,061 district budget for fiscal year 2027 with 13 schools and the transition to an upper elementary and junior high model.  

"We believe that our important milestones are in place to be able to move forward with implementation, so we have some immediate next steps," interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said about the middle school restructuring. 

"Probably our top next step, after communicating with staff and our families, is moving on to the staff assignment process, and we are also continuing to evaluate our transportation routes to ensure the shortest rides possible for our students to our two citywide middle schools." 

Late last year, the former committee voted to restructure Pittsfield's two middle schools in the fall, with Grades 5 and 6 attending Herberg Middle School and Grades 7 and 8 attending Reid Middle School.  There had been a question of whether the shift could be done for the 2026-2027 academic year or not. 

Middle school principals will soon visit elementary schools, and upcoming middle-grade students will tour Herberg and Reid.  

During public comment, resident Paul Gregory said he understands the move is to improve students' academics and better prepare them for high school. 

"I get it. I think the people of Pittsfield get it," he said. 

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