The graduation celebration for Mount Tom Academy’s class of 2026 was held in the Fine & Performing Arts Building in the Leslie Phillips Theater on the Holyoke Community College Campus. The ceremony took place on Tuesday morning, June 2nd. This year’s graduates included nine students, from East Longmeadow, Granby High School, Minnechaug High School, Greenfield High School, Easthampton High School, and Hampshire Regional High School. Speaking at the graduation were Maureen Binienda, Interim Executive Director of the Collaborative for Educational Services; Karen Reuter, Deputy...
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Massachusetts Special Education Surrogate Parent Program Transitions to Collaborative for Educational Services
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) has awarded the statewide Massachusetts Special Education Surrogate Parent (SESP) Program contract to Collaborative for Educational Services (CES), effective July 1, 2021. CES is a non-profit...
Mobile markets make local food accessible
As summer approaches, several nonprofits are cleaning out their vans, mapping out routes, and coordinating with farmers for the start of their mobile markets. It is exactly what you’d imagine — a small farmers market packed up in a van and driven around to...
HEC Academy in Northampton Graduates Class of 2021
2021 Graduates from HEC Academy in Northampton, MA, celebrate at Union Station with their families. Northampton, MA -- Nine students graduated from HEC Academy in an in-person ceremony held at Union Station on Friday, June 4th. The Academy is an alternative...
Mount Tom Academy Class of 2021
Photo courtesy of Daily Hampshire Gazette Staff Photographer, Kevin Gutting. Mount Tom Academy, an alternative learning program run by the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) and hosted by Holyoke Community College, graduated four students in an in-person...
Gazda named director of region’s educational resource center
Todd H. Gazda, the new executive director for the Collaborative for Educational Services, got a somewhat late start in education, as he first worked as a contract attorney after earning a law degree in the mid 1990s. But the Middlefield native later became a social...
Gazda named as new Executive Director
The Board of Directors of the Collaborative for Educational Services (CES) in Northampton has named Todd H. Gazda, Ed.D., J.D., as the new Executive Director of the Massachusetts collaborative. Dr. Gazda will join the agency effective July 1, 2021, succeeding...
Hinds and Blais say launch of Rural Schools Commission ‘a big win’ for region
GREENFIELD — State Sen. Adam Hinds and state Rep. Natalie Blais recently chaired the first meeting of the state’s Rural Schools Commission, and they expect that the body will have recommendations by the end of the year for how to permanently fund rural school...
Youth substance abuse prevention programs get state funding
BOSTON (WWLP)–Youth substance use prevention programs across the state will receive grant funding through a state health initiative. The Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) announced $3.8 million in...
Kristen Smidy named Gateway Regional School District superintendent
HUNTINGTON — The Gateway Regional District School Committee has named Kristen Smidy, the principal of Hampshire Regional High School, as the district’s next superintendent. The committee voted 11-1 on Wednesday to offer Smidy the job. She was one of four finalists...
Massachusetts to recommend modifying MCAS graduation requirements for Class of 2022
In light of the COVID pandemic’s impact on the school year, Massachusetts Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Jeffrey C. Riley announced he will be recommending changes to the state’s graduation requirements for the Class of 2022. The...
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