SHELBURNE — The Communities That Care Coalition celebrated the work of school districts in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region, and presented the Sarah Cummings Coalition Leadership Award to Hannah Bertrand of The Brick House Community Resource Center during its biannual meeting on Thursday.
The Sarah Cummings Coalition Leadership Award is given each year to a coalition member who demonstrates leadership and inspiration, and who advocates for the coalition’s work, according to the organization’s website. The award was created to honor Sara Cummings, former Communities That Care Coalition co-chair, for her work during the organization’s first six years.
Bertrand serves as the youth programs director at The Brick House and has been there since August 2022. According to Bertrand, The Brick House on Third Street in Turners Falls serves youth experiencing generational poverty and generational trauma. She said it’s important to listen to the teens at the center, because they know what they need.
“They are the highlight of my day, every day,” Bertrand said at Thursday’s meeting at Fellowship Hall. “When they tell us [what they need], we have to listen.”
The Sarah Cummings Coalition Leadership Award was presented by last year’s winner, Jenna Weld, who works as an art facilitator at The Brick House.
Weld said Bertrand has a quality that’s incredibly important in their line of work: the ability to listen.
“The most unheard voices have been heard by you,” Weld said to Bertrand.
The Communities That Care Coalition was formed in 2003, and is led by Community Action Pioneer Valley and the Franklin Regional Council of Governments (FRCOG). Thursday marked the first of two coalition meetings taking place this year, with the fall meetings devoted to sharing survey results, while the spring meetings carry a theme. This year’s theme was a celebration of Franklin County and North Quabbin schools.
Before the award was presented to Bertrand, school district leaders gave a presentation on the work that has been happening in their respective districts. A common theme emerged: evolving to meet the ever-changing needs of the students. A sense of camaraderie was evident between the schools, and as Mohawk Trail Regional School Principal Chris Buckland said, “we beg, borrow and steal from grants.”
Buckland also said it’s a good time to take risks, because the Massachusetts Legislature is “never going to make their way up the hill.”
“We envisioned this gathering, not just as chance to [lift up] the work that we knew was happening in the districts and for the school partners to share with each other, but also just to share with the wider community,” said Leigh-Ellen Figueroa, health and prevention programs coordinator for the Communities That Care Coalition and FRCOG. “In a time where we hear a lot about budget deficits, we hear a lot about cuts, we hear a lot about a lack of resources, it feels really important to lean into hope and the reality that the folks are still doing the good work.”
With recent budget cuts at several districts, multiple school leaders mentioned how, instead of hiring administrators who focus on student discipline, focus has shifted to bolstering staff, and in some cases, specifically support staff. Frontier Regional School Assistant Principal Scott Dredge said the district is doing its best with restorative practices, and that the school has moved away from discipline to instruction.
“Schools do not need another administrator for discipline,” Dredge said.
Danielle Boucher, curriculum director at Ralph C. Mahar Regional School, said Mahar’s staff members are amazing, despite the impact of budget cuts. She said there are always activities going on, and that the school tries to get students out of the building as much as possible.
Mahar, she added, has also been able to hold onto programs that could be, and have been, cut in other districts. Part of this comes from consolidation of regional office staff.
Another highlight was a focus on cultural belonging within the school districts. Zevey Steinitz, director of teaching and learning with the Pioneer Valley Regional School District, said the district has been emphasizing cultural belonging, and that although the audience would “hear some repeats from other districts” in her presentation, that’s “a good thing.”
After the presentations, attendees were asked to scan a QR code to be taken to a webpage that asked what word best described how they were feeling about the work of the schools. The two words that were used most were “inspired” and “hopeful.”
“We really wanted to give the schools a chance to shine. It’s a very tough time financially for schools. … We wanted to bring a positive and uplifting experience for the schools and for the community,” said Rachel Stoler, the community health program manager for the Communities That Care Coalition and FRCOG. “This [event] represents over two decades worth of building relationships, doing work with the schools, trying things, adjusting to new trends in student health. … We’re trying to evolve with the community.”
Following Bertrand’s acceptance of the Sarah Cummings Coalition Leadership Award, the community partners in attendance were asked to stand in a circle and say one word that represented their feelings about the future of education in Franklin County and the North Quabbin region — an exercise that produced a very similar result to the word cloud.
“Just like the region, we can’t do this without each other,” Figueroa said. Looking around the circle, she said, “this is Franklin County and the North Quabbin.”
