ARPS Highlights Student and Staff Wellness on International Mental Health Day
International Mental Health Day offers an opportunity to reflect on the many ways Amherst, Pelham, and Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools support wellness across the district. While the holiday is global in scope, ARPS has made mental health and well-being a local priority for both students and staff, embedding practices and programs that continue to grow year after year. For students, wellness begins with proactive care. All students in grades 7 and 9 participate in the SBIRT screening, which stands for Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment. In family-friendly terms,...
Exploring the Amherst Regional Experimental Forest: Ecology Students Study the Impact of Invasive Species
Just beyond the Amherst Regional High School lacrosse fields lies the Amherst Regional Experimental Forest (AREF), a quiet woodland that becomes an outdoor laboratory each year. This week, Ms. Larson’s ninth-grade ecology students traded their desks for the forest floor as they launched an annual project that has been a cornerstone of the school’s science curriculum for nearly two decades. Ready with their handmade “age-gauge” rulers crafted from index cards, students worked in small teams to measure the diameter of the forest’s native tree species. By calculating tree ages and creating...
Supporting New Educators: Second-Year Teacher Induction Program Starts the Year at ARHS
The Amherst, Pelham, and Amherst-Pelham Regional School Districts have officially launched this year’s Second-Year Teacher Induction Program, hosting the first session at Amherst Regional High School. Second-year teachers from across the three districts gathered to continue developing their skills and to strengthen their connection to the district. The session was facilitated by New Teacher Leaders Melissa Sulikowski and Tim Austin, who guide educators through monthly meetings during their second year in the district. These meetings are part of a two-year mentoring and induction...
ARHS Students Help Elementary School Gardens Flourish
This summer, the elementary school gardens thrived thanks to the dedication of three Amherst Regional High School students who served as the first Summer Garden Stewards. Meghan H. ‘26, Sylvan C.-R. ‘27, and Toby Y. ‘25 spent their summer tending to the plants that elementary students had planted in the spring. Each week, the ARHS Students visited their assigned sites to water, weed, sow seeds, and lend a hand with garden projects. Their consistent care made a visible difference. “The gardens have never looked so healthy at the end of August,” said Jen Reese, co-director of the School...
Handle With Care Training Prepares ARPS Staff to Support Students
As the new school year begins, Amherst, Pelham, and Amherst-Pelham Regional Schools have completed districtswide training in Handle With Care (HWC), a program designed to help educators recognize when students may need extra understanding and support. The training was led by the Family Center in partnership with the Children’s Advocacy Center of Hampshire County. Handle With Care is a simple but powerful system. When first responders are called to a traumatic situation where a child is present, they send a confidential notice to the school district that includes only the child’s name,...
Missing School? Here’s What Counts!
Families in the Amherst, Pelham, and Amherst-Pelham Regional School Districts are asked to report all student absences as soon as possible, ideally no later than the start of school on the day a student will be out. Reporting an absence helps the school know your child is safe and provides context for why they are not in class. It is important to know that reporting an absence does not automatically make it excused. School officials review the reason for each absence to determine if it meets state and district guidelines. Absences that are generally considered excusable include: Illness...
Welcoming New Leaders to Our Schools: Meet the District’s New Administrators
Jess Nardizzi — Assistant Principal, Amherst Regional Middle School Jess Nardizzi brings more than 15 years of experience as a visionary, equity-driven educational leader to her new role as Assistant Principal of Amherst Regional Middle School. Holding an Ed.S. in Administration, Planning, and Policy from UMass Lowell, a Master of Social Work from NYU, and a B.A. in Psychology and Women’s Studies from Wheaton College, Jess is also a licensed clinical social worker and holds Massachusetts licensure as an administrator (K–8) and school adjustment counselor (all levels). She has served as an...
A Behind-the-Scenes Look at ARPS Admin Week 2025
The Amherst, Pelham, and Amherst-Pelham Regional School Districts’ leadership team gathered for Admin Week 2025, a weeklong series of sessions designed to prepare administrators for the 2025–26 school year. Hosted with the support of Amherst College, which provided meeting spaces throughout the week, the event offered a chance to plan, collaborate, and strategize to ensure every student is supported from day one on August 27. The week was facilitated by Safire DeJong and Tom Chang, Co-Directors of Joy & Justice in Schools at the Collaborative for Educational Services. The tone was...
Amherst Student Scores Big With MLB Grant
When Oscar Reich walked into his 8th-grade Civics class at Amherst Regional Middle School, he didn’t expect the final project would lead him to Major League Baseball. As part of the annual Civic Action Project at ARMS, Oscar was challenged to identify an issue he cared about and take real-world steps to address it. As a lifelong baseball fan and active player in the Amherst Baseball youth leagues, he saw an opportunity to give back to the game that had given him so much. With persistence, creativity, and a little offseason determination, Oscar applied for and received a grant from the...
Kate Westafer Honored for Inclusive and Impactful Teaching at Wildwood Elementary
Wildwood Elementary School educator Kate Westafer has been named the 2025 recipient of the Roger L. Wallace Excellence in Teaching Award, a distinction reserved for educators who exemplify instructional excellence, student-centered values, and a commitment to inclusive education. As a special education teacher, Kate’s impact goes far beyond academic instruction. Her work is rooted in the intentional creation of community spaces where students learn, grow, and thrive together. “Intentional creation of community underscores my interest and approach to education,” said Westafer. “Most of my...