2007 Annual Report

Empowering Educators, Inspiring Learners

ANNUAL REPORT 2007

©2007 Hampshire Educational Collaborative

HampshireEducational

Collaborative

L ocated in Western Massachusetts, the

Hampshire Educational Collaborative is a

nonprofit organization that works to empower

educators and inspire learners. For more than thirty

years, HEC has provided access to quality educational

programs for our most vulnerable, at-risk children and

youth, and trained teachers and administrators to provide

programs of excellence. Closely attuned and responsive

to the ever-changing educational needs of children,

families, educators, schools, and community, HEC moves

quickly to address gaps in programs and services with

high-quality, research-based, and collaborative solutions.

HEC directs major initiatives in:

• Early Childhood

• Special Education

• After School Programs

• Professional Development

• Educator Licensure

• Adult Education

• Education of At-Risk and Incarcerated Youth

Hampshire Educational Collaborative . 2007 Annual Report

FY2007 marks the 32nd year the Hampshire Educational Collaborative has been providing a wide range of programs and services that advance

learning for children and youth most at risk of failure in school. During this period, the Collaborative has worked with teachers, administrators, and policymakers to address the fundamental issues of improving education. We have seen our mission as providing the resources and expertise that schools and educators need to build successful learning environments for a diverse population.

Throughout our history, we have provided alternative educational programs with strong behavioral supports, while training and coaching those who work in those programs. For the past decade, in order to meet the needs of the children, youth and educators in our communities, we have broadened our program offerings and expertise in areas that reach beyond the confines of a typical school building or school district, such as early childhood, after school programs, adult education, English language learners, licensure opportunities, and programs for incarcerated youth. The expansion of programs and services is an example of our responsiveness and adaptability to current needs and trends, a hallmark of the agency.

Through this annual report, we hope to give the reader a sense of the breadth and variety of programming we provide, as well as the diversity and range of the audiences we seek to reach.

I am ever mindful how this organization strikes a balance in serving students and educators. We strive to listen and respond to the needs of our member school districts as they meet the challenges of helping all students achieve in an era of declining resources and high accountability standards. We have also sought to meet educational needs of children and youth beyond our region, and by doing so, have created more capacity to fulfill our mission to empower educators and inspire learners. This could not be accomplished without the many partnerships HEC has forged with school districts, educators and other organizations within the larger community.

I am grateful for those who have supported our efforts in so many ways. I hope that this report will show the results of that support during FY2007.

Sincerely,

Joan E. Schuman, Ed.D Executive Director

It has been an honor to serve as the Chairperson of the Board of Governors of the Hampshire

Educational Collaborative for the past eight years. Since its creation in 1974, the organization has focused on providing services and programs for students most at risk of failing or dropping out of school, students with multiple disabilities who need specialized services, and teachers who need to further their education and acquire additional skills and knowledge to teach and prepare every student for the future.

When I was first appointed to the Board of Governors fifteen years ago, I could never have imagined the growth that the Collaborative would experience nor the expansion of the scope of our services that has occurred since 1993. From a locally focused organization offering cost-effective opportunities for collaboration to the school districts of the Pioneer Valley, HEC has become a statewide provider of services for students and educators and a nationally recognized expert in the provision of professional development.

It is exciting to offer the first annual report the Collaborative has produced for the public. In this report, we have tried to give you a flavor of some of the current programs we produce by introducing you to those who have been the recipients of those programs and services. In a publication as brief as an annual report, to highlight all that we do during a given year would be impossible. By focusing on some of the people who have benefited from those programs and services, we hope you will have a sense of the quality and excellence of programming that we provide for our member districts and across the state.

This 2007 annual report demonstrates some of the ways that our work, in collaboration with so many of you, has made and will continue to make a difference in the lives of all of our children.

Sincerely,

Lisa L. Minnick Chair, Board of Governors

Page 1Hampshire Educational Collaborative . 2007 Annual Report

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HampshireEducationalCollaborative

2007

Page 2 Hampshire Educational Collaborative . 2007 Annual Report

Amherst-Pelham Regional Jere Hochman, Superintendent www.arps.org

Belchertown Richard Pazasis, Superintendent www.belchertownps.org

Frontier Regional Regina Nash, Superintendent www.frsd.deerfield.ma.us

Hadley Nicholas Young, Superintendent www.hadleyschools.org

Hampshire Regional Barbara J. Ripa, Superintendent http://skipper.mecnet.net/~hrhspage/superoffice

Hatfield Pat Dardenne, Superintendent www.hatfieldpublicschools.net

Northampton Isabelina Rodriguez-Babcock, Superintendent www.nps.northampton.ma.us

South Hadley Gus Sayer, Superintendent www.shschools.com

Smith Vocational & Agricultural High School Frank Llamas, Superintendent www.gazettenet.com/~smithschool

Ware Mary Elizabeth Beach, Superintendent www.ware.k12.ma.us

Easthampton (on leave) Deborah Carter, Superintendent www.easthampton.k12.ma.us

Working in partnership with the members that form the Collaborative is essential to our mission to provide the resources schools and educators need to build successful learning environments.

HEC is governed by a Board of Governors from eighteen member school districts that include: Amherst, Pelham, Amherst-Pelham Regional School District, Belchertown, Easthampton, Frontier Regional, Conway, Sunderland, Hadley, Hatfield, Northampton, Hampshire Regional, Williamsburg, Chesterfield-Goshen, Southampton, South Hadley, Smith Vocational, and Ware

Member district superintendents form the HEC Steering Committee while School Committee members from each district make up the HEC Board of Governors.

David Bourbeau Smith Vocational & Agricultural High School

Brad Brousseau Hampshire Regional

Andy Churchill Amherst-Pelham Regional

Susan Davidson Chesterfield-Goshen

Cathy Englehardt Hatfield

David Giles Southampton

Julia Miller South Hadley

Lisa Minnick (Chairperson) Northampton

Charlene L. Nardi Williamsburg

Beverly S. Phaneuf Belchertown

Brian Pinette Frontier Regional

Aimee Smith-Zeoli Sunderland

Karen G. Wentworth Ware

Tom Winans Conway

Nick Young Hadley

FY 2007

Board ofGovernors

Steering Committee

Member Districts

c o l l a b o r a t i o n

“The superintendent

is the CEO of the

school district...

The challenge is

to balance the time

devoted to operational

and personnel issues

with educational needs.”

A Resource for School Districts

One of the forums Barbara has found especially useful is the annual meeting at the HEC Conference Center that the Collaborative organizes with legislators. “Our demographics are different out here and when legislators come to us, they get a different perspective on our needs.” With her busy schedule, Barbara appreciates the resources HEC brings to the valley for the benefit of local districts, including annual legal seminars with one of the foremost school attorneys in the state. Meetings arranged by HEC with staff from the Massachusetts Department of Education, she says, “provide time to build relationships and trust.”

During the 2006-2007 school year Barbara began using a HEC consultant to assist in redesigning the district’s teacher evaluation plan. The project had been started the previous year and they needed a neutral person who could bring good process models to the group and guide its work. “Our consultant energizes people,” says Barbara, who is pleased with the process.

“HEC is both a resource and a support structure,” says Barbara. “The people I’ve had exposure to through HEC, from specialists to superintendents, are current in education and that’s important. I’ve had experiences with consultants who are far removed by years, and it damages credibility. HEC people speak from their own experience and knowledge and are a resource for best practices.” The ability to discuss options and customize services to address a specific issue is very important to Ripa. “I didn’t have to buy a one-size-fits-all T-shirt; I got one that was exactly the right size for our needs.”

In coming years, Barbara hopes that the Collaborative may be able to assist rural districts like Hampshire Regional to expand distance learning opportunities for their students. “HEC,” she says, “is a great data bank for us and is able to provide information that helps us to plan for the future.”

“In my first year as Superintendent at the Hampshire Regional School

District,” Barbara Ripa says, “I observed what was in place in my district, and since my district is a member of HEC, I became part of the Steering Committee.” As a newer superintendent, this ability to connect with colleagues in the Valley proved invaluable. “Superintendents,” she notes, “are the only people in their districts with that job description. Though our districts are vastly different, we face common concerns. What HEC does in providing this opportunity is bolstering; I leave nourished.”

Once a month or so Barbara also met with a former school superintendent who now works for the Collaborative. These informal mentoring meetings have helped her to problem-solve and look at ways the Collaborative might be of help in her district. “He has been so valuable to me,” she says, “yet, he never pushes.”

Barbara RipasuPERinTEndEnT

HAmPsHiRE REgiOnAl sCHOOl disTRiCT


Time goes by whether you do it or not... so you may as well just do it.

It was this thought that inspired Pat Lord to begin working toward her Ed.D. in

Education Psychology when her son was one year old, a process that was completed when he was seven.

“This is my passion,” Pat said, as she looked around her engaging and colorful kindergarten classroom at Hadley Elementary School. “I have taught at the graduate level, but kindergarten is the perfect job for me. These kids are like little sponges.”

Three years ago Hadley Elementary started a math committee as part of a strategy aimed at improving MCAS (Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System) scores. Pat, whose dissertation was on math and math attributes, joined the group. They reached out to the Collaborative for assistance and soon began working with HEC mathematics consultants. Rick Last, who is project director for The Math Path at HEC and an Intel® Master Teacher, has worked with school staff for the past two years on math content, using the K-5 Investigations curriculum. Last year, the focus was on kindergarten and first grade.

“Rick has a way of making you feel comfortable. He puts teachers at ease,” said

“On mCAs, it’s more than completing the math problem.

now you have to show that you understand how the

problem is solved.”

A New Attitude

Pat. “I think all of our attitudes toward math throughout the building have changed since we started with him. There is a lot more understanding.”

Changes in approach have included teaching 90-minute segments of math on a daily basis. At first teachers were apprehensive about filling the time. “With Investigations,” Pat explained, “we learned to present information, then do hands-on activities, then get students back into a group.” Once teachers got started, they began to share ideas and talk more about math. Rick was always in touch by e-mail to see how things were going, and dropped by frequently with new materials.

Through building-wide themes, subjects such as English language arts are integrated into math through word problems, which serve to help students to explain and discuss their answers. Teachers have been inspired to implement new practices such as the math journal each child now keeps and these have proven to be a good vehicle for talking to parents about their kids’ work. “Parents are amazed and thrilled,” said Pat.

Math Path consultants helped teachers organize a Math Night at the school. The highly successful event was attended by some 300 parents and children, who gained a new appreciation of math by participating in activities like “Roll the Snowman Dice.”

“You can see so much change in how the children approach math problems now,” said Pat, who noted that all the scores are up in this year’s MCAS results. “It’s very encouraging.”

Pat LordTEACHER

HAdlEy ElEmEnTARy

sCHOOl


a c c o m p l i s h m e n t

With its wide range of training, consulting and coaching services, workshops and

Professional Learning Communities, the HEC Professional Development department

serves as a one-stop resource to individual educators, schools, and districts. In

addition to The Math Path, HEC offered services for educators working with English

Language Learners through the new Center for English Language Education (CELE),

continued to serve as a regional Reading Recovery training site, and provided rich

learning experiences through the HEC Teaching American History grant.

fine and large motor skills and sensory integration issues—the organization of the senses and how they work together. The Center’s welcoming main room resembles a gym, with swings, scooters, ramps, and climbing structures that provide a variety of movement experiences. Max may zoom down from a zip line or lower himself into a

“ball bath,” lie on his belly on the “frog swing” platform, give himself gentle and firm hugs in the “sling high,” or experience the reassuring pressure of padded rollers. Since his treatment began, Max has been diagnosed as having Asperger’s Syndrome, and many of the activities are especially useful in helping him to “self-regulate,” focus, and better sense and control his body. Other activities are designed to help him “wake up” his body and increase sensation in his hands.

Max, and his teachers and parents, are working together on his sensory issues. Noel has consulted with his school and made arrangements for teachers to observe one of Max’s sessions with her at the OT Center so school staff may better incorporate some of those strategies and techniques in helping him.

In parenting Max, Deb and Lisa see new opportunities. “We now know how to help him when he’s having a hard time,” says Deb, and both women are more confident they will be able to help him develop the social, emotional, physical, and academic skills he will need for the future.

Max, a bright and energetic six-year-old with an expressive face framed by curls, is the son of Deb and Lisa Levheim. Max attends the Common School, a private

school in Amherst, where he is in a Primary One, multi-year class. Max is also a regular visitor at the Collaborative’s Occupational Therapy Center, where he has been working with Occupational Therapist Noel Kesselheim for the past year. Deb and Lisa brought Max to the OT Center for an evaluation at the suggestion of his teachers, who are familiar with OT Center staff through previous work with the school.

“Max has benefited from his work at the OT Center in many ways,” says Lisa. His fine motor skills have improved through activities that give him tools to practice and succeed in tasks that frustrated him previously. He is learning to discriminate more in the use of his dominant hand, too, instead of using both hands interchangeably.

In the “Big Room,” as Max calls it, Noel leads him in activities designed to address

“We want to help max keep his wonderful

‘uniquenesses’ while giving him the skills he’s going

to need in life.”

e m p o w e r m e n t


The Levheim FamilyCliEnTs

HEC OCCuPATiOnAl

THERAPy CEnTER

The Occupational Therapy Center,

along with the Collaborative

Center for Assistive Technology

and Training (CCATT), is part of

HEC’s assessment, consultation,

training, and treatment services

for students with special needs

in western Massachusetts. HEC

specialists in speech, occupational

and physical therapy, vision,

mobility, and learning disabilities

provide assessments, evaluation,

consultation and testing throughout

the region. In addition, the Special

Education Department provides full

service educational programs

for students with a wide

range of disabilities.

Max and the Big Room

Second Life


“We measure success in small steps at the beginning,” said David Ulin,

who has been teaching at a Department of Youth Services (DYS) medium treatment facility in central Massachusetts for the past two years. “We raise self-esteem. We use a diversified educational approach that works with all learning styles.”

David is a former attorney who practiced immigration law for twenty years before entering the field of education five years ago as a substitute teacher. He now holds licenses in English and Social Studies, and also serves as a Teaching Coordinator.

David credits the HEC professional development program with helping him to grow as a teacher. “They do a good job in providing both the theoretical knowledge and practical skills to teach our students effectively,” said David. “We have a real partnership with [Director of DYS Professional Development] Shirley Gilfether. She cares and is able to communicate that

“This is a renaissance experience for me.”

caring attitude while giving teachers what they need to know.”

The Collaborative has been providing professional development throughout the Commonwealth since 2003 to all the teachers serving students incarcerated in DYS residential facilities across the state. HEC is also currently responsible for hiring and supervising nearly three-quarters of all DYS teachers in the commonwealth.

David emphasizes that HEC staff are “not only knowledgeable in their subject matter, but have had experience with diverse learning styles,” and he believes that HEC training has helped him to better understand his own teaching style, which in turn has had an increasingly positive impact on his students. “Where HEC is superior is in the quality of the people that lead the professional development.”

He believes coaching services provided by Robin Warner and her counterparts are a “wonderful tool to empower DYS educators.” On one of Robin’s first visits to his classroom, she suggested rearranging the desks into a horseshoe shape to encourage discussion, a configuration David has continued to use in his teaching.

Through his relationship with the Collaborative, David learned about HEC’s Teaching American History (TAH) project and participated in a yearlong series of workshops on the themes of Immigration, World War I, and Women’s Suffrage. As a result, David has integrated new tools, such as primary historical source documents, into his teaching. Through guided research online, the teenagers in his classroom can look at resources like past local census and payroll records to actually see, “when women took factory jobs, when Irish immigrants began to be hired.” He has been pleased to see how readily his students are able to relate to history through this practical and innovative approach. By putting students in the place of people who were faced with decisions and then getting input from the students, David said, “You are introducing them to a different world.”

By any standard, teaching these students, who stay, on average, 3-4 months, is a challenge, but David is committed to providing continuity in his students’ education and a path for re-entry to public school. “We try to communicate to students that education is important, and that they can succeed.”

p a r t n e r s h i p

In FY2007, HEC provided educational

services to 39 Department of Youth

Services (DYS) programs throughout the

commonwealth:

14 Boston Metro/Northeast MA

13 Central/Northeast MA

8 Southeast MA

4 Western MA

The 127 teachers in these programs served

an average of 1,500 youth each day.

HEC provides professional development

for all teachers in the DYS system, through

training that is enriched with standards-

based curriculum materials and coaching.

HEC’s Emerging America: Teaching

American History program for K-12

teachers is supported by a grant from the

U.S. Department of Education.

David UlinHEC TEACHER

mAssACHusETTs dEPARTmEnT OF yOuTH sERViCEs

Page 7Hampshire Educational Collaborative . 2007 Annual Report

i n s p i r a t i o n

“i love creating community in the building and the students are part of that. The After school Program helps our kids to feel connected and that they have a voice.”

A Place to Succeed

Lesley WilsonPRinCiPAl

JFK middlE sCHOOl nORTHAmPTOn

Prominently displayed on a file cabinet in Lesley Wilson’s office—and visible to any visiting student, are Abraham

Lincoln’s words, “Whatever you are, be a good one.” In setting out to create a school with as many opportunities as possible for some 700 students in grades 6-8 to succeed, the principal of the JFK Middle School in Northampton has followed this wisdom.

Lesley believes creating community in her school building is an important part of a successful learning environment. She has found the After School Program at JFK, a partnership with HEC that has been supported by 21st Century Learning Center funds from the Massachusetts and United States Departments of Education, to be instrumental in building that connection. “The After School Program,” says Lesley, “has been a part of giving them a say, and the more they have to say about their education, the better.”

Being part of something with peers is important to her students, she notes, and the After School Program has provided students with a place to be with friends, be social, and explore a variety of new activities. Enrichment activities help to engage students, while academic and assistance with homework have directly supported achievement. With MCAS remediation activities during the school day tied to the After School Program, the students involved have made progress.

“Academic support is key to the success of our most at-risk kids,” says Lesley.

The school is involved with the Collaborative in many endeavors in addition to the After School program. The Principals’ Group, which meets monthly throughout the school year, has offered a chance for Lesley to meet with her colleagues from other school districts to discuss common

topics and issues dealing with the critical leadership role that principals play in today’s schools.

A HEC Pre-Vocational special education program for students with moderate to severe disabilities is situated within the school building. Teachers from JFK and HEC have created ties to the class through a “Down the Hall” project which brings a sixth grade reading class together with the HEC Pre-Vocational students once a week for interaction through writing projects, games, and celebrations.

The Collaborative’s Center for English Language Education (CELE) has provided training and mentoring for JFK teachers who work with English language learners. HEC has assisted the district in writing grants to provide funding and support for Community Service Learning programs, which help students learn through service experiences in their school and community.

During FY07 HEC operated a network of 7 middle school and

3 elementary programs in the Amherst, Gateway Regional,

Gill-Montague Regional, Greenfield, Northampton,

Palmer and South Hadley school districts:

1141 youth served

22% students with special needs

44% low income

1.3% limited English proficient

After School programs are part of the HEC Learning Supports

program that also includes adult education, workforce

development, school-to-work partnerships, training for school

district personnel on students experiencing trauma, and

community service learning. Partnerships with local, regional,

and statewide agencies through the Strategic Planning Initiative

for Families and Youth (SPIFFY) and related support services

help build resiliency to address barriers to learning.

v a l i d a t i o n

5,089 Miles and Learning


“modeling new material or ideas for teachers is very useful...even to those of us who have been

doing this for a long time.”

“We traveled 5,089 miles to Hawaii,” enthused Pam Clark, Director of the Quaboag Children’s Center in Palmer. For

months, the young students in her preschool classroom had imagined each and every step of their “trip” to Hawaii and all the things they would see and do when they arrived. They created murals, played in sand, wore leis and grass skirts, and fashioned an erupting volcano. One child, said Pam, actually told her father, “We’re going to Hawaii!”

Pam began working at the Center as a volunteer when she was in 8th grade. She came in, read stories to the children, and was hooked.

“I’ve never wanted to do anything but work with children,” she said, explaining that after majoring in psychology, she began her career in an early education and care center in the area and returned to Quaboag Children’s Center when a position opened up. That was twenty years ago, and she enjoys her work just as much today.

“When I first arrived here, we were our own world. We didn’t work with any outside consultants.” She began to work toward accreditation for the center with Early Childhood specialists from the Collaborative around 1996, and credits many of the positive changes at the center to that process and the ongoing and rewarding relationship with HEC Early Childhood staff. “HEC consultants,” Pam said, “are good listeners and good observers who reassure and validate staff, and then provide very helpful and constructive advice, information and resources. They build confidence for the staff.”

Members of the Early Childhood team have visited to conduct teaching observations that are designed to support staff by providing insight into teaching methods and what is happening behaviorally with the children. “When they suggest change,” notes Pam, “they do it subtly and help us understand why the changes may be effective. They make us feel great about what we are doing.”

The Collaborative’s knowledge of available resources has been valuable

in other ways, too. “HEC told us about flex funds which can be used to hire an extra staff member. They helped us see that we had a legitimate need to reduce the child/staff ratio with what is called a Ratio Enhancement Position. Having the extra staff member has made a huge difference in being able to give individual attention when needed.” Including the director, the center now has six staff members.

A spring music presentation by HEC’s Carolyn Mazel “couldn’t have come at a better time.” The next morning, shorthanded with a staff member out sick, Pam used Carolyn’s “something new” approach to engage her young charges, who were soon happily repeating the “Bumble Bee” song from the presentation. “I think we had up to 20 bees in the hive at one time!” said a grateful Pam. “There’s always something new to learn.”

HEC manages five Community Partnership Coalitions serving

Belchertown, Easthampton, Hatfield, Monson, Palmer, South

Hadley, Ware, Warren, West Brookfield and West Warren.

Two Family Networks operate nine family centers in Amherst,

Belchertown, Cummington Easthampton, Huntington,

Northampton, Palmer/Monson, South Hadley, and Ware. HEC

also administers Parent-Child Home Programs in South Hadley

and Ware as well as an Early Childhood Mental Health grant

serving Franklin County and the Hampshire Regional School

District. Early childhood services include childcare subsidies for

eligible parents of preschool-age children; NAEYC accreditation

and CDA certification; quality enhancement consultation for

child care settings; and behavioral/mental health consultation,

parenting education, coaching and support; as well as trainings

to strengthen learning and school readiness.

Pam ClarkdiRECTOR

QuAbOAg CHildREn’s CEnTER

i n n o v a t i o n

“Every day, every small thing that happens in the classroom gives me joy

that i’m in the right profession.”


Making a Difference

Samidha SaneEnROllEE

liCEnsuRE @ HEC EduCATOR PREPARATiOn PROgRAm

As an educator, Samidha Sane wants to make sure that her students enjoy learning. She wants them to like science and get excited.

“They should not be bored,” says the lively young teacher who is, herself, clearly excited by her work. “In science,” she says, “we are making them aware of the environment they are living in and what is around them—while having fun. I want them to be more aware of things.”

Samidha, who is enrolled in the Collaborative’s Licensure @ HEC educator preparation program (www.TeachInMass.org), has been putting

what she has learned into practice in her classroom at Locke Middle School in Billerica, in the northeastern part of the state. Her studies are preparing her for Initial License as a middle school science teacher.

“I’ve really learned a ton of things from HEC courses. HEC has taught me new ways of teaching.” Her courses have covered a variety of practical topics, including dealing with different learning styles and strategies to help struggling students. Pleased with the results, Samidha explained that new vocabulary words she learned in her science classes and “excellent ideas” for using them have given her greater confidence in her ability to hold the interest of her students and guide them in writing in science class. Her writing course provided insight into ways to better prepare students for writing, which ties in with her school’s goals for improving writing skills and MCAS test results.

“One course I’m taking now,” says Samidha, “is Managing Challenging Behaviors. I don’t know what I would have done without this. I thought I knew everything before. I did my Masters, so I thought I could handle things.”

Samidha has taken most of her classes right in Lowell, at one of several HEC course sites throughout the state equipped with videoconferencing. Samidha explained, “The instructor is on TV and we are on the other side. We can speak. We can e-mail later.” The busy mom found the arrangement very convenient, as it allowed her to stay close to home and her children. It’s the practical teaching strategies Samidha learned from her experienced instructors, however, that this enthusiastic educator values most of all.

HEC provides Initial licensure courses in Math/Science,

Math, Reading, Special Education, English as a Second

Language, and Administration at sites in Dalton,

Holyoke, Lowell, New Bedford, Northampton and

Worcester. No matter where they participate, program

enrollees have the option of earning a CAGS or M.Ed.

through HEC’s higher education partner, Fitchburg

State College.

Participants who work in high-need partner districts

(Greenfield, Holyoke, Lowell, New Bedford, North

Adams, Springfield, and Worcester), DYS facilities,

selected charter schools, or HEC alternative programs

and who meet certain requirements may be eligible to

participate at no cost through the Collaborative’s federal

Transition to Licensed Teaching grant.

In addition to the Licensure program, the HEC

Professional Development Department serves educators,

schools and districts by offering courses, coaching, and

district improvement in math, English/language arts,

coordinated program review, EQA reports addressing

services to English Language Learners; assessment of

English Language Learners; training and coaching in

pedagogy, school and district leadership; training and

support of Reading Recovery teachers; a Teaching

American History program; and integrating the arts in

DYS education.

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s e r v i c e


Since its inception in 1974, the Hampshire Educational Collaborative has worked closely with schools, school districts, and communities to enhance educational opportunities and share critical resources. We take pride in the positive relationships forged through common efforts to support educators, promote lifelong learning, and ensure that learning is accessible and engaging for all students.

We believe that every student can learn and can succeed. And we believe in listening, being accessible, and responding proactively to existing and emerging needs. The Collaborative is pleased to provide a wide variety of high-quality programs and services to support school districts, educators, and the community.

Communities

Districts

Educators

Families

Schools

Students

Programs & Services

Direct Services

HEC direct services capitalize on our strength in crafting holistic services for students with differing educational needs and in the development of programming to complement existing services.

Acceleration & Remediation

After School Programs

Collaborative Center for Assistive Technology & Training (CCATT)

Department of Youth Services Education Programs

Easthampton Adult Career Development

Easthampton Reunion Center

HEC Academy Alternative High School

Mount Tom Academy

Occupational Therapy Center (OTC)

Safe Schools/Healthy Students

2007

School-to-Career

Secondary Career Education

Special Education Programs & Services

Specialized Services

Occupational Therapy

Physical Therapy

Speech-Language Pathology

Vision/Mobility

Psychological Service

Supplemental Educational Services

Ware Youth 4 REAL

Workforce Investment Act Program

FY


Enhanced Services

The Collaborative’s wide variety of innovative enhanced services are directed toward solving the complex problems involved in educating every learner effectively, from birth to adulthood. Working with educators, institutions, and the community, HEC utilizes its collective knowledge to address the problems of students and those who educate them. Products and programs are designed to meet emerging needs while building on resources that are already in place.

k n o w l e d g e

Center for English Language Education (CELE)

Center for Literacy Learning

Collaborative Conversations

Community Service Learning

Cooperative Purchasing

Early Childhood Program Enhancement & Accreditation

Early Childhood Support Team

Eastern Communities Partnerships for Children

Easthampton Community Partnership for Children

Emerging America: Teaching American History

Hampshire County Family Network

Hatfield Community Partnership for Children

HEC Knowledge Bank

Licensure @ HEC Educator Preparation Program (TeachInMass.org)

Massachusetts Distance Learning Network

Math Curriculum Library

The Math Path

New Beginnings Center for New Teachers

Palmer/Monson Family Network

ParentCoach

Professional Learning Communities

Quaboag Community Partnerships for Children

Reading Recovery

Safe & Supportive Learning Initiative

South Hadley Community Partnership for Children

South Hadley Parent-Child Home Program

Transportation Routing

Strategic Planning Initiative for Families & Youth (SPIFFY)

Unlocking the Light: Integrating the Arts in Juvenile Justice Education

Ware Parent-Child Home Program

Community volunteers serve on this committee that meets regularly to aid the Collaborative in connecting to local resources and partners, and offer a community perspective for programs and initiatives.

Kathy Beresky Teacher/Reading Recovery

Ruth Bowman Early Childhood Education Consultant

Marcia Burick Community Leader

Joan Cenedella Retired College Educator

Putnam Goodwin Boyd Teacher/Writer

Keri Heitner Researcher

John Hoops Workforce Development

Jim Levey Businessman/Community Leader

Caroline Mack Parent

Futures Advisory Committee

Lisa Minnick Business Owner Chair, HEC Board of Governors

Roisin Quinn Realtor

Joan Stoia Marketing Consultant/Business Owner

Donna Wiley Banker

Nancy Desrosiers, HEC Special Education Department Honored for volunteer work with students at the Veterans Administration Hospital

Dale Gardner-Fox, Collaborative Center for Assistive Technology & Training (CCATT) Named as an Intellitools® Expert Trainer

Rick Last, Project Director, The Math Path Named as an Intel® Master Teacher

Kay Lisseck, Early Childhood Quality Enhancement Specialist Named as a Schott Fellow

Joan Schuman, Executive Director Elected to the Executive Council, Association of Educational Service Agencies (AESA)

Sandy Spiewak, Speech Therapist Named to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) National Team of evaluators

Paul Stracco, Director of Department of Youth Services Programs Elected President, Massachusetts Administrators for Special Education (ASE) Board Member, Council of Administrators of Special Education, a division of the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC)

Debbie Zacarian, Director, Center for English Language Education (CELE) Board Member, Massachusetts Association of Teachers and Speakers of Other Languages (MATSOL)


The effectiveness of any program or service is dependent on the expertise, responsiveness and capabilities of the staff who provide those services. The Hampshire Educational Collaborative has an extraordinarily talented, dedicated, and creative staff and we are proud to recognize some of their accomplishments.

Honors

c a p a c i t y

Finance

FY2007 Financial Results

Total Assets: $6,034,292

Total Revenues: $21,730,125

Total Expenditures: $21,874,665

Professional Development Administration

Special Education

Grants & Contracts

9%3%20%

68%

FY2007 Income

Hampshire Educational Collaborative . 2007 Annual Report

Empowering Educators, Inspiring Learners Since 1974

Photographs: lucia Foley, sarah musumeci

Hampshire Educational Collaborative 97 Hawley Street Northampton, MA 01060 413.586.4900 800.278.4244 413.586.0180 Fax [email protected]

Empowering Educators, Inspiring Learners

© 2007 Hampshire Educational Collaborative

2007

2007 Annual Report

Documents

quality educational

programs of excellence

expansion of programs

empowering educators

wide range of programs

atrisk children

member school districts

typical school building