BArT Seniors Recognized with John and Abigail Adams Scholarship

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ADAMS, Mass. — Berkshire Arts & Technology (BArT) Charter Public School is proud to announce that 13 of the 35 members of the BArT Class of 2026 have been awarded the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship, a  merit-based scholarship that recognizes academic achievement on the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) exam.
 
This year's recipients are:
  • Joy Bristol
  • Bishop Casey
  • Lilianna Choque
  • Dareen Hage
  • Nyx Hall
  • Tucker Legrand
  • Raif Madole
  • Emerson Maloney
  • Brooke Mckeon
  • Vincent Miksic
  • Zachary Tetreault
  • Kaden Toomey
  • Madison Walker
"We are incredibly proud of these students for their hard work, persistence, and academic excellence," said Director of Counseling Stephanie Maselli.
 
The John and Abigail Adams Scholarship provides a tuition credit for up to eight semesters of undergraduate education at any Massachusetts state college or university. Scholarship eligibility is determined by MCAS performance, recognizing students who score in the Advanced category on at least one high school MCAS test, score Proficient or Advanced on the remaining tests, and rank in the top 25 percent of their school district based on combined scores.
 
The scholarship's purpose is threefold:
  • To reward and inspire academic excellence;
  • To encourage high-performing students to pursue higher education within Massachusetts; and
  • To provide financial support to college-bound families.
"This recognition reflects the deep commitment our students and teachers share to rigorous learning and achievement," said Dr. Joe Huston, Principal
 
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Hoosac Valley Seeks to Prevent 'Volatile' Assessments

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
ADAMS, Mass.— The "volatile" shifts in Hoosac Valley Regional School District's town assessments year to year is hard for smaller towns to absorb; however, a proposed change to the regional agreement would fix that. 
 
During the Select Board meeting last week, Superintendent Aaron Dean presented the proposed change to the regional agreement that would set assessments based on a five-year rolling average rather than the annual student enrollment.
 
"The long-term goal is to make the assessment process a little bit more viable for people from year-to-year," he said. 
 
An ad hoc committee was convened to review the district's agreement, during which concerns arose about the rapid fluctuations in assessments.
 
"I think you have to look short term, and you have to look long term. The goal is to kind of level it off and make planning easier and flatten that curve in terms of how it's going to impact both communities," Dean said. 
 
Every year, it is a little more difficult for one community because they are feeling disproportionately impacted compared to the other, he said. 
 
"The transient nature of this population right now is like nothing I've ever seen," Dean said. 
 
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