To the Editor,
We are a group of Watertown caregivers and community members writing to raise urgent awareness about an active community petition concerning the experiences of students with disabilities in Watertown Public Schools.
Families across the district have repeatedly raised concerns regarding access to appropriate special education services, consistency of implementation, communication with families, and meaningful inclusion in decision-making processes. These concerns reflect sustained experiences shared by multiple families over many years and warrant serious public attention.
In response, a community petition was created calling for the School Committee to place on its agenda a public discussion and action on a Vote of No Confidence for the Director of Student Services. This petition remains open and active. To date, more than 260 signatures have been collected. A second batch of signatories will be submitted at the June 22 School Committee meeting.
Many concerns have been raised in public forum during recent meetings of the Watertown Public Schools School Committee. At the June 1 meeting, public comment from nearly a dozen community members highlighted issues around communication, transparency, and legally mandated procedures. These comments begin approximately 45 minutes into the recorded meeting.
For those who wish to review the public comments, the recording is available here:
June 1 School Committee Meeting: http://vodwcatv.org/internetchannel/show/4592?site=2
The petition can be viewed and signed here:
Community Petition: https://forms.gle/KZcbnMbMu1PQUfVt6
These concerns have been repeatedly raised in formal settings, official correspondences to the School Committee, and through sustained family advocacy. Despite this, multiple families continue to report ongoing challenges related to communication, inconsistent processes, lack of meaningful participation, and administrative gatekeeping of services. These same concerns and more were documented in the January 2026 independent Special Education Program Review conducted by AthenaK12. Access to this report and additional sources of data are hyperlinked within the online community petition.
We encourage all residents who have not yet reviewed the petition or the public comments to take the time to do so, and to consider adding their voices in support of ensuring these concerns are fully heard and addressed.
Respectfully submitted,
Watertown Special Education Alliance
Additional updates and information can be found here:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1JT7mwtpy9/?mibextid=wwXIfr
who is this group and why am I seeing facebook ads for their content ? who is funding this ?
Eric, this is a group of Watertown parents. If you watch the meeting video, or the highlights on the Watertown Cable Instagram, some of the members spoke at the meeting.
Every advertisement on Facebook is marked with a clear “Ad” label above the post (formerly “Sponsored”). Without that designation, you are seeing “suggested content” based on your online activity, interactions, location, and social connections.
Hi Eric,
I have asked the same questions. I also checked FB to see who the administrator or administrators are for this site. No info available. FB seems to have different rules and murky policies for posts that they will or will not accept. This is concerning as I believe one should stand behind one’s words, apologize if a mistake is made, and recalibrate if better information is forthcoming. After all – isn’t that what accountability and transparency are all about?
Elodia Thomas, Watertown resident for decades
We Are All Watertown
Some of the members spoke at the last two meetings. This passage from the letter gives some info where to view the comments from the first meeting. (also see the instagram post embedded in the letter to see the Cable News piece that shows some of the members).
“At the June 1 meeting, public comment from nearly a dozen community members highlighted issues around communication, transparency, and legally mandated procedures. These comments begin approximately 45 minutes into the recorded meeting.
For those who wish to review the public comments, the recording is available here:
June 1 School Committee Meeting: http://vodwcatv.org/internetchannel/show/4592?site=2”
Hi Elodia,
I hear your concerns about transparency and accountability. However, I don’t believe the rules are murky. Under the First Amendment, people have a legal right to speak without revealing their identity in many public contexts, especially on matters of public concern. Social media platforms operating in the U.S. are built around that legal environment. Facebook requires a real identity for personal profiles, but pages (such as community pages, advocacy pages, or public issue pages) are meant to represent topics, not individuals.
In cases where school systems and children with disabilities are involved, some parents choose anonymity out of concern about retaliation or potential negative impacts on their children’s school experience. These concerns have been raised in Watertown and discussed during a number of recent public meetings.
I don’t believe accountability disappears in this scenario. Rather, it often shows up in different ways, including formal petitions or complaints, grassroots advocacy efforts, or verified public comment when people feel safe doing so (including this response).
Ultimately, I think both things can be true at once: we can value transparency when appropriate and also recognize why some individuals may feel safer speaking without attaching their name, especially when the welfare of children is at stake.
Jen Nicholson
Watertown resident and parent
Signed!
For more information:
http://vodwcatv.org/internetchannel/show/5619?seekto=110&site=3&query=subcommittee
I haven’t been involved with the schools since graduating, but I’ve heard the same complaint from countless parents over the last 3 years; school leaders don’t listen and dismiss them as overreacting. They are not overreacting. These parents take their advocacy seriously, fighting for children with both visible and invisible disabilities. They deserve commendation, not dismissal.
Advocacy is crucial especially when federal policies dehumanize in an effort to coalesce around definitions of who belongs and who does not. From ICE operating without due process and the gerrymandering of predominantly Black American communities, to military restrictions on LGBTQ+ service members, marginalization has become systemic. In this light, it is no surprise that the Department of Education announced a shift in special education oversight to the Department of Health and Human Services, under RFK JR!
(https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trumps-actions-signal-a-move-toward-institutionalizing-people-with-disabilities-advocates-warn).
These policies are a cultural regression. Putting up barriers that stymie any person’s ability to thrive is a moral failure. As Pearl S. Buck argued, the moral test of a civilization lies in how it cares for its helpless members. It also ignores American History. Time and time again, when barriers have been reduced or removed, people thrive.
– Black Wall Street in Tulsa, Oklahoma
– Beto Perez, creator of the global Zumba fitness empire, was an undocumented immigrant
– Highly decorated Tech Sgt Leonard Matlovich, a legendary lifesaver during the Vietnam War, outed himself in 1975
– FDR became president at 51; he had been paralyzed from the chest down since the age of 39
We in Watertown have to do better now. We can’t throw out a whole generation of students because it is too expensive or too much work. I am glad to see this moving forward.