NB Districts Take Reins To Ensure Future of N.Berkshire Academy Special Ed. Program

The Berkshire Eagle  reports local school districts are solidifying the future of a shared public special education day school.

North Berkshire Academy, launched in 2018, marked a new era of educational collaboration in Northern Berkshire.

A new shared services agreement approved Tuesday by the North Adams School Committee gives the city school district fiduciary responsibility for the program, with four other Berkshire County school districts signing on to what is now an independent program.

North Berkshire Academy — it's the only school of its kind in Berkshire County — brought special education services to an area where students previously had to be bused out of the area to receive those services.

The grant funding has run out. With an agreement of their own, North Adams and Northern Berkshire school districts are leaving the Collaborative for Educational Services umbrella and branching out on their own.

The school districts signing on are the North Berkshire School Union, Adams-Cheshire Regional School District, Central Berkshire Regional School District and Mount Greylock Regional School District.

The program currently has 10 students, seven of whom are from North Adams Public Schools.

Under the new agreement, North Berkshire Academy staff — formerly employed by the Collaborative for Educational Services — will become employees of North Adams Public Schools.