To the editor:
I have seen the phrase “Our schools, our choice” on some lawn signs regarding the proposed school merger. I, too, want that for the students of southern Berkshire County. And the best way for us to retain control of our schools and our choices is to vote FOR the merger and the building of a new, truly comprehensive high school.
I am a special education teacher of 25 years, currently working with seventh and eighth graders at DuBois Middle School. My reasoning for voting for the merger has nothing to do with any allegiance to my home district, nor to any comment on the quality of either Berkshire Hills’ or Southern Berkshire’s schools or districts. It is because I am deeply aware of what students need entering high school. They need choice in mapping an individualized path toward a fruitful adult life. A combined school district, with a new state-of-the-art building, can provide that choice by offering a wider variety of academic and vocational pathways that are not otherwise offered at either Monument or Mt. Everett. We teachers hear the concerns of employers that recent graduates are not coming out of school job-ready, and, paradoxically, we also hear many of our students and families complain that school is not giving them an education that they need or want. Our students (often the ones at risk for dropping out) who do not benefit from the traditional liberal arts education leave school without job skills and then become a burden for our social safety net. We can reverse this trend and prepare our students to become immediate contributors to our economy by building a school that provides an appropriate education for all.
And residents of the five towns of Southern Berkshire Regional School District, please note: Berkshire Hills will be looking to build a state-of-the-art building with an eye towards vocational preparation, with or without you. Your students and families will continue to have a choice of schools if you choose not to merge with Berkshire Hills, which means that your tax dollars will be used for paying for out-of-district schools.
The whole of southern Berkshire County is in desperate need of a comprehensive high school that includes in-depth and varied vocational programming. I am hopeful that our eight towns can create that school. Let’s band together to build a school that can provide the choices our students deserve.
Please vote next weekend at your town meetings for the building of the future for our young citizens.
Sam Ernst
Great Barrington
