AMHERST — An Amherst Regional High School English teacher who pioneered a class on gay and lesbian literature in the late 1990s is one of 11 semifinalists to be Massachusetts Teacher of the Year for 2022.
Sara Barber-Just, the English Department’s chairwoman, was recently notified about the honor, and Superintendent Michael Morris informed the Amherst-Pelham Regional School Committee about the recognition.
Morris called the decision “fantastic and well earned” and described Barber-Just as “a fabulous person,” noting she has been profiled in local and national publications for teaching the LGBTQ+ literature class and putting together the course curriculum.
“If you know her she does an incredible amount of work, not just in her typical classes and leadership of the English Department,” Morris said, adding that Barber-Just also oversees The Graphic student newspaper.
The Department of Secondary Education website states that it honors a Massachusetts teacher each year “who exemplifies excellent teaching in the state.”
“Beyond celebrating the individual, the program looks at the complex work that is involved in educating all students through highlighting student achievement, commitment to the profession, innovations in education, and teacher leadership. It draws attention to issues of teacher quality and reiterates the importance of the teacher as the single most important school-based factor in improving student outcomes.”
Two Amherst educators have earned statewide accolades in the past, Wilma Ortiz in 2011 and Bruce Penniman in 1999.
Julie Johnson’s 20 years of leadership at the Hitchcock Center for the Environment has won her acclaim from the International Living Future Institute.
The Living Future Hero award comes after Johnson, who will leave her position June 30, oversaw the successful $6.9 million Building for the Future capital campaign and developed Hitchcock Center’s Certified Living Building, the 23rd in the world and fourth in the state.
The institute credits Johnson with facilitating a strategic broadening of the Hitchcock Center’s mission, using the new building as a teaching tool for thousands of visitors of all ages.
“At a time when climate change poses an epochal threat to humankind and other species, the Hitchcock Center demonstrates how to use nature’s wisdom to create a healthier and more sustainable future,” the institute states in a press release.
The proposed fiscal year 2022 budget for Amherst will be the focus of the Cuppa Joe from 8 to 9 a.m. May 14.
Town Manager Paul Bockelman will be joined by Finance Director Sean Mangano and Comptroller Sonia Aldrich to answer questions during the session that participants can join via Zoom.
Cuppa Joe comes in advance of the Finance Committee hearing on the budget plan at 6:30 p.m. May 17.
A spring cleanup day, sponsored by the Hadley Climate Change Committee, takes place from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, May 15.
Residents are encouraged to pick a neighborhood to clean, gather supplies and sign up at https://forms.gle/EM9NwN3o6fX6s18R8/.
The town’s transfer station will be open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., and those who have signed up will be able to drop off what they picked up for free.
The organizers hope to also get a tally of both the trash and recyclables picked up along town roads.
Owners of several Amherst buildings that are being proposed for demolition will come before the Historical Commission next week, including the family that owns a former car repair garage and farm stand at 20 Ball Lane.
In addition to the building that housed the repair shop run by the Matuszko family, the other buildings that could be razed include the 1828 J.T. Wescott House at 462 Main St., used as an office building in recent years, a 1947 home at 90 Memorial Drive, and an 1850 farmhouse at 559 East Leverett Road.
The commission, meeting at 6:30 p.m. May 19 via Zoom, can allow demolition to proceed immediately or can impose up to a yearlong demolition delay if it determines structures are historically significant.
MONDAY: Town Council and Finance Committee joint hearing on municipal budget, 6:30 p.m., via Zoom.
WEDNESDAY: Planning Board and Community Resources Committee joint hearings on proposed building moratorium on large-scale residential projects and revisions to inclusionary bylaw, 6:30 p.m., via Zoom.