GMRSD Family Engagement

Th district has previously held an annual Spring Extravaganza that has thoughtfully been rebranded to FIND YOUR THUNDER: PATHWAYS TO SUCCESS, to better reflect the school pride, opportunity, and aspirational culture of Great Falls Middle School/Turners Falls High School. We encourage families to mark their calendars and to plan to attend this event that showcases the many academic, athletic, artistic, musical, and vocational development opportunities at our secondary school. Student leaders will be on hand to answer questions about their first hand experience. In addition, building tours will be offered and questions answered about our Innovative Pathways Program, college and career planning, and the personalized and supportive learning environment that is offered at Great Falls Middle/ Turners Falls High School.

Our elementary families will NOT want to miss our Elementary Math Night. This signature event brings children and families from Gill, Hillcrest, and Sheffield Schools together. It is a wonderful opportunity for families to see the many fun activities and games you can do with your children that promotes curiosity and learning and builds upon their mathematical skills.

Please note: all children must be accompanied by a parent/guardian.

Dear Families,

Our extended school year (ESY) summer services program for qualified students with disabilities is scheduled for Monday July 6, 2026 through Thursday July 30, 2026. The program will run half days from Monday - Thursday with the location and the exact elementary and secondary programs times to be forthcoming.

The criteria for ESY is based on a careful review of student performance data (academic and functional skills based) and whether a student, based on the impact of their individual disability, is likely to experience substantial regression during lapses in specialized services, following a break in those services. In addition, beyond some skill regression, which most children experience to varying degrees, is a particular child with a disability, based on individual student performance data,

likely to have added difficulty recouping previously demonstrated or acquired skills.

We want to gently remind families that the determination for extended school year services is discussed annually at the IEP team of which parents/guardians play an essential part. ESY is different from summer school, summer recreation, or credit recovery and therefore many students with IEPs, actually do not qualify for ESY services.

Kristin Dietz, M.Ed.

Director of Pupil Services

Gill-Montague Regional School District

35 Crocker Avenue, Turners Falls, MA 01376

413-863-4001

Pronouns: she, her, hers

What are Equitable Services? Local public school districts are required to set aside a percent of federal grant funds for low income students and students with disabilities in private schools at private expense and for eligible home school students (identified with educational disabilities). For individuals with disabilities, the percent of funds is based on enrollment data between Oct. 1 and Dec. 1 of the prior fiscal year.

The district holds three meetings per year and invites stakeholders (private and home school families) to these "Equitable Services Consultation" meetings to determine priority use of these limited funds.

Examples of how these funds have been used in the past?

• Instructional enrichment

• Materials

• Student specific & small group instruction

• Tutoring

This year meetings will be held on the following dates and times:

• Thursday, March 5, from 4:00-5:00 PM
• Thursday, April 2, from 4:00-5:00 PM
• Thursday, May 14, from 4:00-5:00 PM

All meetings will be held virtually, to allow for greater accessibility and the link will be sent out to all district families of children who are homeschooled or attending a private school at private expense.

To learn more about Equitable Services you are welcome to visit:

https://www.doe.mass.edu/federalgrants/equitable-services/district-level.html

All us have been to a restaurant, waited at a bus stop, or watched people at the mall, for example, who are continuous interacting with their phones. At some point, it becomes an unhealthy habit that fills the void of time, even when you are in the company of others. Children, youth, and many adults, become habituated to using a phone to scroll on through social media, watch TikTok or YouTube videos and it becomes at the expense of using that time for a more purposeful, productive, or healthy end.

Controlled studies and longitudinal research indicate that excessive cell phone and social media use (typically >3 hours/day) significantly damages youth mental health, doubling risks of anxiety and depression. Key findings show this usage correlates with sleep deprivation, reduced cognitive control, lower academic performance, and increased body image issues.

Key Findings on Damaging Impacts

• Mental Health Decline: A longitudinal study of U.S. adolescents (12–15 years) found over 3 hours of daily social media use doubled the risk of poor mental health, including depression and anxiety. A natural experiment on college-aged youth linked social media rollouts to a 9% increase in depression and 12% in anxiety.
• Sleep Disruption: Use of smartphones before bedtime or the mere presence of devices in the bedroom disrupts sleep, reduces melatonin production, and delays REM sleep.
• Cognitive & Behavioral Issues: High smartphone usage is linked to lower academic performance, reduced inhibitory control, increased impulsivity, and hyperactivity.
• Physical Health Risks: Early smartphone ownership (age 12) is associated with increased risks of obesity and insufficient sleep.
• Social & Emotional Impact: Social media fuels social comparison, cyberbullying, and FOMO (fear of missing out), leading to lower life satisfaction, increased loneliness, and mental health decline.

  
  

Key Studies and Evidence

• HHS.gov: The U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory highlights that 8th-10th graders spend an average of 3.5 hours per day on social media, with high users facing significant mental health risks.
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): This study notes a "dose-response relationship" between screen time and distress, with the highest impact often observed in girls.
• Children's Hospital of Philadelphia: Research suggests that the younger the age of smartphone acquisition, the higher the risk of negative health outcomes.

• American Psychological Association (APA): Studies show that increased screen time is linked to higher rates of both internalizing (anxiety/depression) and externalizing (aggression/hyperactivity) problems in children.

These studies suggest that reducing screen time, especially before bed, is essential to mitigate negative outcomes.

Go Zen, offers a free printable TECH DETOX 30 day Challenge. We invite our district families to participate in this or in other limit setting approaches (for example, no phones at meal times, no phones at bed time or setting parental controls for quiet hours free from notifications.

Child Find is a component of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) that requires every state and school district to develop a system for identifying, locating, and evaluating all children with disabilities ages 3 through 21 who are in need of special education and/or related services programming.

GMRSD accomplishes this by engaging with district stakeholders, including teachers, staff, building administrators, and families as well as community partners such as private and public schools, daycares, preschools, community organizations, health care centers and doctors offices to identify and refer children in need of services to their neighborhood schools to begin the evaluation process. As a stakeholder of GMRSD, every staff member is also responsible for making these referrals. If you would like to learn more, please see the linked Child Find Notice below.

GMRSD Child Find Notice

Applications for scholarships are underway, so don't miss out, the deadline is March 20th! Grab yours online or in town today.

2026-2027 APPLICATION

This trust fund was established under the Will of Fred W. Wells. Mr. Wells, a former resident of Greenfield, directed that a portion of income from the fund be used for awarding scholarships in agricultural, mechanical or professional fields. Only residents of Ashfield, Bernardston, Buckland, Charlemont, Conway, Deerfield, Gill, Greenfield, Hawley, Heath, Leyden, Monroe, Montague, Northfield, Rowe or Shelburne who have resided or whose parents have resided in any of these towns for not less than two years immediately prior to the date of application are eligible. More information about the scholarship is available at https://www.wellstrustscholarship.com/

A brochure about the Fred W. Wells Scholarship is available here: Fred_W_Wells_Scholarship_pamphlet.pdf

For your application to be complete, you must submit the following:

• Completed application form
• Your stamped, official, school transcript from the most current academic year
• A current recommendation

The completed application form must be postmarked on or before March 20, 2026, to:

Prudence Blond

Greenfield Savings Bank
400 Main Street
P.O. Box 1537
Greenfield, MA 01302

For more information about college and career counseling, scholarship programs and applications, we encourage families to visit our TFHS Guidance Counseling Website and their 25-26 scholarship listing as well as their 25-26 general scholarship application, and/or to schedule an appointment with Ms. Beth Fortin, TFHS guidance counselor, who is an amazing resource.

We did not have any families in attendance at our our Friends of Special Education meeting on January 20th. The group will next meet on March 17, 2026, from 4:00 to 5:00 pm. Please look for the meeting link, in your email, if you are a parent/caregiver of a child identified as having a disability requiring special education services or a child who is currently being referred for evaluation. For our March meeting we are looking to schedule guest speakers from either MassAbility and/or the Department of Developmental Services to talk about transition planning for 14-21 students with moderate to intensive disability related needs.

For our January meeting, we had prepared a presentation on behavioral health supports and the differenced between school and community based counseling.

Linked below are meeting slides and prior information that has been sent out.

January Friends of Special Education presentation

December Friends of Special Education

November Friends of Special Education presentation

Our Interim Superintendent Tari N. Thomas, School Business Manager Joanne Blier, and all district administrators and principals have been working closely on putting forth a sound school budget for FY'27. The district both recognizes funding constraints while carefully considering how we can best meet the needs of our district students to provide rich, robust, and efficacy based education for all our students and a supportive learning environment for our talented and dedicated educators and support personnel.

The Superintendent included this information in her January newsletter titled below:

Navigating the FY27Budget: GMRSD Faces Enrollment Decline &Funding Shortfalls

Interim Superintendent Tari N. Thomas

The Gill-Montague Regional School District (GMRSD) is currently working to finalize its Fiscal Year 2027 budget, navigating significant financial challenges driven by declining enrollment, rising costs, and the end of federal pandemic aid.

The Preliminary Budget, presented to the School Committee on January 13, 2026, totals $31,404,579 but anticipates a General Fund Deficit of $2,171,905. The district is now focused on finding a balance that protects core educational programs while respecting the financial constraints of its member towns, Gill and Montague.

The Financial "Perfect Storm"

District administration highlighted three major factors creating this substantial budget gap:

1. The Funding Gap and "Minimum Aid" Trap: While GMRSD's real-world costs for essentials like health insurance, utilities, and supplies are rising sharply (7-9% annual inflation), state Chapter 70 aid is barely increasing. Due to declining student enrollment, the district only qualifies for a minimum increase of around $100 per student. This small increase fails to cover mandated rising expenses.

2. The ESSER Cliff: Federal pandemic relief funds (ESSER) that previously covered positions for mental health support, Instructional Assistants, and math interventionists have expired. The cost of maintaining these vital services must now be absorbed by the local budget, contributing to the deficit.

3. Rising Needs and Unfunded Positions: Educators have identified a critical need for 18.5 new positions to address behavioral health, early education, and special education services. These positions, currently unfunded, would help address student learning loss and rising needs, but the district cannot afford them with current revenue.

Key Budget Figures and Trends

• Reliance on Reserves: The district has responsibly built up its savings (Excess & Deficiency or E&D) during the pandemic and is currently drawing on these one-time funds ($400,000 projected for FY27) to cover recurring operational costs. This is acknowledged as an unsustainable "stop-gap" measure.

• Rural Aid: The budget anticipates $480,000 in state Rural Aid, a vital supplemental grant that helps offset the high per-pupil costs associated with low enrollment and large geographic area.

Priorities for Balancing the Budget

The administration and School Committee are focused on three main strategies to bring the budget into balance before the final vote in March:

1. Revenue Maximization: Aggressively pursuing all available state reimbursements, including Rural School Aid and Special Education Circuit Breaker funds.

2. Strategic Attrition & Reorganization: Reviewing every open position and looking to consolidate roles or use natural staff turnover (retirements/resignations) to reduce personnel costs without resorting to involuntary layoffs.

3. Collaborative Advocacy: Working closely with the Select Boards and Finance Committees of Gill and Montague to find a "middle ground" that preserves the quality of education while respecting the towns' affordable assessment limits.

How Citizens Can Get Involved

The community is encouraged to participate in the budget process:

• Attend Meetings: The School Committee will hold budget discussions on January 27 and February 10, with a Public Hearing scheduled for February 10, 2026.

• Contact Legislators: Contact Senator Jo Comerford and Representative Natalie Blais to ask them to prioritize Rural School Aid funding.

Join Town Officials: A meeting with the Gill and Montague Select Boards/Finance Committees and the GMRSD School Committee is scheduled for February 5, 2026, at 5:30 pm in Gill.

As this was from the superintendent's January newsletter, the above listed meetings have passed. However, families can still participate in this process in their community through communicating with the GMRSD school committee and through local municipal representation and town government.

In an effort to support students and families our student services staff have put forth a compilation of local community based resources for food, housing, legal, transportation, mental health, wellness and more. The resources are included in the Family/ Community Resources linked as well as pasted below. Family/Community Resources

Please note the Student Services and Family Engagement Office offers news and information that our families may be interested in or that may otherwise benefit students and families as a public service. We cannot endorse a specific program or community based activity directly unless specified as a district sponsored partnership. If you have an activity you would like the district to include in our public service communications please contact the superintendent's office for consideration.

Looking for free or low cost family activities this winter? Do you want to meet more people in the community and talk with other parents? Could your family either use additional supports (food, clothing, diapers, etc.) or have household items/toys to donate that are no longer needed?

If you would like to learn more about Franklin County Family Center you are welcome to visit their website at: https://www.communityaction.us/program/family-center/, check out their monthly calendar of events or to sign up to receive their monthly newsletter.

Hello Colleagues!

We have 2 new programs starting next week:

Monday evening from 5-6:30 is the first of a monthly series through June called "Break Time at the Brick House". This program includes dinner and gives parents and caregivers a chance to relax together while we have structured activities with their kids in another room.

Next Thursday from 11-12 is the first of a weekly program called "It's Circle Time", for caregivers and their young children to participate in a caregiver & me circle time.

Not new, but a slight change: our food pantry hours are shifting on Thursday mornings to 10-1 to align with the other 2 days we are open (Monday and Saturday).

Please see attached flyers and spread the word, thanks very much!

Stacey

Stacey Langknecht

The Brick House Parent Family Program

24 Third Street

Turners Falls, MA 01376

413-800-2496

www.brickhousecommunity.org

www.facebook.com/brickhousecommunity

Dianne M. Ellis, Assistant Director of Pupil Services & Special Projects Liaison*

Email: dianne.ellis@gmrsd.org Website: http://www.gmrsd.org/
Location: 35 Crocker Ave., Turners Falls, MA 01376
Phone: 413 863-7513
*part time-working primarily Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays by appointment.