The South Berkshire Educational Collaborative exists to provide and facilitate joint planning, services and programs, occupational, vocational, academic and special needs, consistent with the identified needs of member school districts.

Description:
The South Berkshire Educational Collaborative's Board of Directors is composed of one School Committee Member from each of the four school districts we represent, with an alternate member assigned from each district. The Steering Committee, made up of the four school superintendents, meets on a regular basis to provide direction for the Collaborative and its many programs. Grant writing is essential, and funding for the programs we provide is primarily provided through these grants. SBEC, in recent years, provided transportation and education for students in the vocational fields. More recently, we have arranged for professional development for our teachers in the 4 school districts we represent, including a math initiative attended by 50 teachers, and a VHS (virtual high school) program now available in each district. Our Adult Education Program provides educational assistance in English to speakers of other languages (ESOL) as well as assistance to adults seeking to obtain a high school equivalency diploma (GED). Throughout this evening education program (classes are held during the school year only) and including summer months, we provide volunteers to assist these adults in the learning process. Our volunteers are expected to be trained by our Volunteer Coordinator, Claudia Ooley, and are also expected to commit to a service of one year. They will meet with their student on a regular basis, usually once or twice a week for one-to-two hours, at a place convenient for the student and volunteer, such as a library. Our program is located in a very rural area in Western Massachusetts where public transportation is not readily available. Students tend to work several jobs to make ends meet, and attending classes in the evening is an effort for many. The volunteer process is so helpful to reinforce the education they have received during the evening classes.

History:
Our agency has been providing services to the Berkshire Hills Regional School District (Great Barrington area), the Lee Public Schools, the Lenox Public Schools, and the Southern Berkshire Regional School District since its start in 1976 when vocational programs and internships were the norm. We expanded to include transportation between schools for brokered programs and Special Education. Our Culinary Arts and Allied Health Programs were successful and utilized by all four districts for several years. More recently, our attention has focused on Adult Basic Education where we utilize buildings in two school districts to hold our evening programs. While we try to provide transportation to the classes in both locations, we cannot meet the needs of every adult student due to the vast rural area that we serve. We continue to stress the importance of adult education and to provide assistance with the learning process by utilizing qualified volunteers.

Contact people:

David Pottle, Adult Education Program Director, (phone), (email) Teresa Bragdon, Office Manager, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (413) 644-9067

Address:

P.O. Box 502 Great Barrington, MA 01230

Web Site: None specified

Directions:

Our volunteers would need to meet with the student at a public location acceptable to both the student and the volunteer. There is no public transportation in our rural area. We also need volunteers at 3 of our sites for the. . . (more)

Miscellaneous Information

What is the type of the agency?
	Government Organization (City, Town, School, etc)
Does the agency conduct CORI checks?
	Yes