District Sustainability and Strategic Planning
2Districts8Towns (Mohawk Trail - Hawlemont)
BERK12 is working with the Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont regional school districts to conduct an ongoing study and analysis as the districts seek ways to ensure their long-term sustainability. The project, branded as the 2districts8towns (2D8T) Sustainability Study, encompasses the Western Massachusetts towns of Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Hawley, Heath, Plainfield, and Shelburne. The BERK12 team is comprised of consultants with expertise in educational design, program development, community outreach, school finances, and school building infrastructure.
Purpose of study. The 2D8T study was designed to identify the best options for providing a high-quality education that prepares students for future success in college, career, and life, while considering educational and fiscal opportunities and challenges. Like many rural areas across the Northeast, the region faces challenges with declining enrollment, rising operational costs, relatively flat state aid, and increasing student needs.
Stage 1. The first stage of work focused on collecting data on enrollment, current educational programming, fiscal conditions, and building infrastructure. BERK12 consultants engaged with the community by making school visits, analyzing school data, and conducting surveys and community meetings to gather perspectives about the districts and schools.
Stage 2. The next stage involved a deep dive and analysis of the data that was gathered in Stage 1. This resulted in generating options for moving forward.
Stage 3. Next, potential operating models that offer a more sustainable future for the schools and member towns were presented and discussed in community settings. BERK12 generated a final report identifying preferred models for moving forward and recommended next steps.
Ultimately, the 2D8T Steering Committee adopted the goal of organizing all students and staff onto a single PreK-12 campus on the Mohawk Trail Regional School (MTRS) campus, to occur in phases over several years. Both of the districts’ school committees approved this recommendation. BERK12 will continue to provide support in research, analysis and community outreach for the Sustainability Study as it moves into the next phase of work.
Documents to get you started:
Please visit 2districts8towns.org (a website developed, launched and maintained by BERK12) to access many reports, presentations, meeting notes and minutes, analysis, results of surveys - etc.
Recent work: Rowe
BERK12 supported a short, intense study in partnership with the Town of Rowe/Rowe Schools. The aim was to better understand the conditions of the Rowe School as they considered surrounding (participation in) sustainability studies. A number of reports and a community meeting were delivered in December 2025. Key documents:
Past work and future growth
Regional School District Planning Board (RSDPB)
From 2020-23, BERK12 worked with Southern Berkshire County’s Regional School District Planning Board (RSDPB) researching and modeling potential collaboration and regionalization options for the Berkshire Hills and Southern Berkshire Regional School Districts. BERK12's role was to conduct public outreach through meetings and surveys, manage the steering committee and working teams, develop options, and create detailed models for and analysis of the preferred option.
After considering various options, the RSDPB steering committee recommended that the two districts merge and create a shared high school while keeping elementary and middle schools intact. To implement the recommendation, residents of all eight towns in the two districts would have had to approve a merger agreement at a special town meeting. Ultimately, four towns voted in favor and four were opposed. The process, however, was an important step forward in considering the future sustainability of education in Southern Berkshire County.
For those interesting in accessing documents prepared as part of the 8towns study, please jakeeberwein@gmail.com. Key documents, to get you started, are below:
Growing towards the future
In addition to working closely with Mohawk Trail and Hawlemont Regional School Districts, BERK12 has had discussions with districts in Northern Berkshire County and other nearby districts, such as the 6 town regionalization planning board, about potentially helping with future regionalization efforts. The research and community outreach process for the RSDPB and 2D8T initiatives has provided a valuable template for further research work.
BERK12 also has the potential for future work in expanding professional development offerings, bringing additional districts into the Portrait of a Graduate work, and providing districts with customized assistance that helps them face challenges in providing high quality education while managing costs.