By Cathy Terwedow
Thirty people crowded into the Becket Washington School (BWS) gym on January 14th to hear the prognosis for BWS’s future. With family sizes shrinking, BWS’s student body has dropped to just 83 students, down from a high of 125 in 2018. Next year BWS is projected to have only 68 students across all grades, pre-K to fifth.
School choice, in which families have the right to shop around for schools, also impacts enrollment and tends to hurt small, rural schools the most.
“We need rural advocacy!” said Dr. Michael Henault, Superintendent of Schools for the Central Berkshire Regional School District (CBRSD), who led the discussion. “It costs 20% more to educate kids in Becket than in Pittsfield. Write to Governor Healey to fully fund Rural Aid so that Chapter 70, the state’s program to distribute state school aid equitably, can be calculated with proper regard to rural districts.”
Currently, Becket has the biggest population of opt-out students in the district (24), losing students to private, parochial, and vocational choices as well as to home schooling. Even geography plays a role, with parents considering it easier to travel to schools in Lee than to send their students to BWS and Nessacus Regional Middle School in Dalton.
Yet optimism reigned at the community forum. Parents, teachers, PTO members, town officials, district administrators, and local residents all spoke favorably about the school, noting particularly the benefits of its small size and sense of community.
Both Dr. Henault and Assistant Superintendent Aaron Robb know what it’s like to lose a small rural school. “It’s devastating to the community,” said Aaron, whose own hometown no longer has its own school. “We chose to raise our family here because of the local schools in the Central Berkshire district.”
Cody Mullaly, parent, agreed. “I live in Dalton, and I have two students in BWS. This is a great school, and BWS has some of the best teachers I’ve ever known. If my wife hadn’t gone here, I wouldn’t have known this school was here. Anything I can do to increase visibility and bring more students to BWS, I’m happy to do.”
After giving a budget overview and discussing capital needs, Dr. Henault engaged the audience in possible solutions. One possibility is to make BWS a magnet school, with a specialty determined by the school community (such as nature-based learning, science, or the arts).
“We need to create a vision for BWS that attracts students and families,” said Superintendent Henault. “Most people aren’t aware of Becket and the fine reputation of its elementary school. Visibility and awareness, especially among kindergarten parents, will be key. Dalton residents need to know that BWS is only 15 minutes away.
“It’s important for parents to know that there is a wait list for out-of-district students to get into Nessacus due to its strong reputation and successful student outcomes. Enrollment at Wahconah High School is also tightening. Yet no waiting list exists for students who attend BWS. They are guaranteed a spot. That should be a strong selling point.”
For elementary-grade students, Craneville and Kittredge Elementary Schools in Dalton and Hinsdale, respectively, draw from larger populations and might not be available alternatives for school choice. “Our outreach could say, ‘We have five spaces for third grade. Sign up fast! Use BWS as your portal to get into Nessacus and Wahconah.’”
“We opened kindergarten registration early this year to project how many kids might really attend. Each year we rely on census data for our estimates, but the numbers can be wildly off,” said Superintendent Henault. “If district students attended BWS and/or school-choice students came back, our numbers would be very healthy.
“We have a great little school with dedicated staff and a strong sense of community and belonging. We want people to come to BWS and feel like they belong. Central Berkshire is one of the best districts in the county.”
“Shrinking enrollment is causing us to think outside the box to keep this gem of a school open,” said Dr. Barbara Craft-Reiss, CBRSD School Committee Member. The superintendent continued, “We are deeply committed to keeping BWS open. Can we get to 90 students in the next two years and save our school?”
Without a doubt, that was the clear goal and desire of everyone in attendance.
