Possible Job Greenfield Community College Need Help (Amherst, Franklin: housing, low crime)

[gongamonga]

My husband may have a job opportunity at Greenfield Community College. We would definitely not live in Greenfield. After reading all the posts though I am worried about what the college is like. Does anyone know anyone who has worked there or what the student body is like? My husband has over 20 years of academic expereince, so he's seen it all, but I am worried that the college may be as bad as the posts here make the town sound. Thanks for the help.

[wheelmannn]

The school is like most of the other community schools around the area. It has a very good nursing program their. It's in a nice neighborhood. Nothing to worry about. I'm sure the Greenfield bashers will be on here but you should feel safe in Greenfield it's not like big cities.

[gongamonga]

Thanks for the response. I feel better now. The posts had me scared to death. I really appreciate you taking the time to answer.

[MontanaTripper]

Hi!

I worked as an adjunct for two years there -- and loved it. I thought it was a wonderful CC and that the students were kind and motivated. [Check out the MA law that allows for cc students with a high GPA to keep their cc tuition when transferring to a 4-year MA state instiution.] I am still trying to find a great a job as I had when I worked there!

As a side note, if I worked in Greefield I would live in Deerfield or Amherst.

[ottio]

Hi,

I went to GCC for a couple of years then transferred to Smith College. It is a wonderful community college! I had a couple of professors who were just as skilled and much more caring than most at Smith. I have also taken exceptional art and creative writing classes there. If I were an education professional, I would definitely work there.

Greenfield is almost hopeless, but very small and perfectly safe. Deerfield is a great town – 10 minutes to Greenfield, but also 15 to Amherst and Northampton, low tax rate, very pretty, good schools plus inexpensive access to Deerfield Academy, if your kids can get in. If you want more info, ask and I'll email you.

[gongamonga]

Thank you so much! I feel much better now to have heard from both a former employee and student. What a relief!

[willdufauve]

The academic standards are extremely low, as you would expect from a community college with no real admission standards other than having a HS diploma or GED.

The typical GCC student is functioning at a 9th or 10th grade level in a good high school. Greenfield Public School students will be the least prepared for college level academic work.

The entire administration of the Gfld schools, interim Superintendent, all Principals of every school, Sped administrators, heads of curriculum have resigned within the last few months.

The Gfld Town Council is requesting a state take-over, receivership, of the Gfld Public Schools and Senator Stanley Rosenberg and MA State Rep. Chris Donelan have agreed to introduce that legislation.

The main focus of the alumni foundation is fund raising to build on-campus housing for single mothers. The illegitimacy rate is very high in Franklin County and the mothers need to take community college courses to retain their welfare benefits.

The Greenfield Human Rights Commission chairperson was "living" at GCC a year ago and bathing in the restrooms after becoming homeless.

[globalView]

I would like to tell you that the school is very troubled. I had the unfortunate pleasure of nearly finishing a degree their in the past few years. This is primarily how it ends up for most people. The class offerings are not in a consecutive order. The prerequisites change frequently and it is nearly impossible to finish any career field. The college is plagued as the town is with what I would call offenders of sorts. The have however adapted to victimize young women attempting to seek higher education. the student body has more women than men and the school overall is more a pick up joint for teachers that get their jollies of victimizing young women. The touching inappropriately ( a rubbing testing back pat Exc..)
How bad do you want your A type stuff.. The management is lax to boot and the school is under renovation for asbestos abatement while running. not swift.. The admissions fella has attempted to take up with staff and work studies for years. No one seems to do anything. Then the student services lady is on a constant brigade to re claim her lost childhood by persecuting people who are socially popular as she was presumably not..

They do a great job of trying to fix the failing K-12 class curriculum this includes adding bellow grade level individuals to college classes. This means including people with less understanding of topics in class conversations. This in turn interrupts students ability to concentrate in classes. The inclusion of behavioural problems in the college further causes problems. In a college setting I feel that if people are not at the college to learn. They should not take such and effort to include people not capable or willing to participate in the class structure. It comes at the expense of other student in allot of cases. In many cases an entire class session can be lost by a teacher attempting to guide a misplaced student. This as hard as it is is not fair for people not getting the lessons they have paid for. it is also not fair because it discourages students that have been placed in classes they could not possibly complete. They often feel as failures in upper learning and do not return. I know of forty or fifty across the state who are so convinced that they cannot take college classes at all. It has been improving but its to late for some folks..

[VlyRoadKid]

Those who replied that you shouldn't worry too much about the recent negative posts on Greenfield are right. News flash: Even 20+ years ago, when I lived in Northampton, and before that, in Amherst, there was about as much crime as Greenfield has now (esp. in Northampton). I remember a teen club that had to close in N'ton because there were constant brawls and gang wars back in the mid-80's! And even in the 70's, when I lived in Idyllic Amherst while in grad school (and i DO love that town!), I had to deal with peeping Toms, there were cars stolen, B&E's and a guy was stabbed to death behind the library! So NO community is "safe"!

Greenfield is not "chic", nor "cute", but if you avoid, say the Skate park at night, you should be okay. My 18 y.o. son often walks home from work at 9-10 AM with no incidents.

If you want a "white-bread" town, look up Sunderland! Low crime (I THINK!), middle/upper-class neighborhoods, and the prices to go with it. Same for S. Deerfield, only without the nice views and much more conservative. AND my car was vandalized there. So you can't predict anything.

Having lived in the Valley since 1970, I can say that there is no ONE town that's "got it all". If you go to Northamton, there's the traffic, and I don't just mean cars! If you head for the hilltowns, then you deal with lower tolerance and more rednecks (well--the Valley's version of them, which my Buckeye husband says is pretty tame!)...and the housing prices are STILL high!

All things considered, compared to so many other places in the U.S., this place is wonderful, in its geography, demographics and overall tolerance for diversity, not to mention lots of things to do and see...and I DO include Greenfield in there!