Math Interventionist Role Weighed By School Committee

The Mount Greylock Regional School District School Committee met Wednesday, June 10th, following the adoption of the district's FY 26-27 budget in both Lanesborough's and Williamstown's town meetings.

In addition to Williamstown residents approving an almost $17 million budget for the District, they also passed a hotly debated amendment to increase the budget by $120,000, in hopes that the District would allocate the funding toward a new "math interventionist" role at Williamstown Elementary School (WES).

What Is A Math Interventionist, And Do We Need One?

According to a presentation given at Wednesday's School Committee meeting, the interventionist role at WES will involve classroom pull-outs for students, which could be done in "small groups or individually, depending on the intensity of need." Intervention plans would vary by the student's "tier" of need, with durations and levels of support determined by individualized assessment. Students would still participate in their grade-level math courses, even if they work with an interventionist.

The purported need for an interventionist was a sticking point at the town meeting, with a member of WES' School Council noting that state math test scores at WES have declined every year since 2019, and that the district's current assessments place 40% of elementary students below grade-level proficiency in math.

Several members of the School Committee spoke at Town Meeting, with Committee Chair Julia Bowen noting that a 40% deficiency likely represents curriculum-wide issues, and member Carrie Greene mentioning that WES is in year one of a curricular overhaul, and encouraged patience to see results of the new mathematics approach before adding a new line item to the school's already growing budget.

What Now?

After the town approved the $120,000 budget increase by a 2-1 margin, the budget returned to the School Committee for final approval. It is important to note that while the town can vote to increase the total budget, the vote in no way mandates that funding be used for an interventionist, and the final say is left to school and district officials.

WES's principal, Benjamin Torres, presented to the School Committee on Wednesday regarding WES's current status. Torres repeated concerns about the school's state testing scores, but noted promising data from the school's new i-Ready math curriculum.

Torres also reiterated the importance of keeping students in core instructional classes and organizing interventions during a new "What I Need," or "WIN," block, which provides students with instructional opportunities that meet their individual needs, whether through classroom pull-outs, catching up on the i-Ready curriculum, or enrichment activities.

One point that was slightly opaque was when exactly school officials decided the budget increase would, in fact, go to the interventionist position. After the presentation, both Greene and Bowen emphasized that the town does not dictate specific budget line items, and asked Torres whether alternative uses of the $120,000 had been considered. Torres responded that while other needs were identified by the school, the math deficiency was the most urgent to address.

A follow-up email with Superintendent Bergeron confirmed that the district will move ahead with the position and that the hiring process is now underway.