Watertown News (https://www.watertownmanews.com/category/schools/)
The Watertown Public Schools may ask the City to tap the Special Education Stabilization Fund created several years ago for a rainy day. The 2026-27 School Budget may be stormy, as the district faces a shortfall of $2.5 million as of Monday’s School Committee meeting. Other ways to make up shortfalls may include reinstating athletics and extracurricular fees. Superintendent Dede Galdston provided the budget update on Jan. 12, before the School Committee’s budget hearings officially start.
Produce growing in the Watertown Public Schools’ Freight Farm. (Contributed Photo)
The state recently awarded the Watertown Schools a grant to run its farm-to-school program, including its Freight Farm. See details in the announcement from the Watertown Public Schools, below. Watertown Public Schools has received more than $80,000 in state grant funding to continue its farm-to-school efforts, expanding learning opportunities for Watertown’s students while also increasing local food production. Last week, Governor Maura Healey’s office announced $1.2 million in funding to expand educational food growth and farming efforts across Massachusetts.
Watertown High School’s Model United Nations club sent more than 40 students to the compeition at Boston Latin in November. (Contributed Photo)
A group of Watertown High School students showed their skills at diplomacy and negotiation and public speaking during the Model United Nations conference at Boston Latin School. Ten WHS students earned awards, including one who earned Best Delegate honors. The Model UN Club is an afterschool activity that has been growing in interest at the High School, said WHS social studies teacher David Mastro, who is the club advisor along with Bannon Beall. The Boston Latin Conference included at least 20 schools and around 300 students, Mastro said.
Boston College High School announced the first quarter honor roll, and eight students from Watertown made the grades. See the announcement from BC High, below. I’m writing to let you know that the following local students made the Q1 Honor Roll at BC High for the 2025-2026 school year. Please join us in celebrating their accomplishments! OwenDriscollQuarter 1 High Honors2026RobertAirasianQuarter 1 Honors2027RobertDiStefanoQuarter 1 Honors2027ThomasMoloneyQuarter 1 Honors2027SamuelCarpenterQuarter 1 High Honors2028RobertMacKerronQuarter 1 Honors2028WilliamCuddyQuarter 1 High Honors2028ChetBrackettQuarter 1 Honors2029
Perkins School for the Blind student Hugh helps Watertown Savings Bank sort coins as part of a work experience partnership. (Photo by Charlie Breitrose)
Students from Perkins School for the Blind have the opportunity to expand their education by leaving campus and learning on the job by working for businesses and organizations in and around Watertown. The school has developed partnerships with multiple employers, including Watertown Savings Bank and the Mount Auburn Cemetery, where students spend time each week. Hugh, a student at Perkins, heads over to the main branch of Watertown Savings each week to help the bank manage all the coins that come into the bank. “My job is I go behind the bank and behind to where they kept the coins, then open up the rolls, and then put it into a machine, so they count it and then sort it into a bag,” Hugh said.
For the first time, the Watertown Public Schools’ Special Education program has failed to earn a grade of “Meets Requirements” from state officials. The School Committee heard a report about the shortfalls and possible solutions at its Dec. 8 meeting. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) calculates a score for each school district based multiple factors including the outcomes for students with disabilities (graduations rates, MCAS, inclusion in regular classrooms), compliance with Special Education regulations, and other factors such as staffing and funds spent on special education. Watertown received a score of 31 out of a total of 45 points, or 69 percent, which falls into the “Needs Assistance” category.
The following piece was provided by Hosmer Elementary School:
On Friday, Dec. 5, Hosmer School proudly concluded its annual Literacy Week, a vibrant celebration of the theme “The Power of Words” held districtwide in Watertown from December 1-5, 2025. The week highlighted how words shape communication, spark imagination, and strengthen community. The guiding message “Words have power. We communicate with our words.
The Watertown Public Schools received a Student and Young Adult Career Awareness and Training grant of $250,000 from the Mass. Clean Energy Center in the state’s effort to grown Massachusetts’ clean energy workforce. The funds will be used to launch the High-Performance Buildings initiative to deliver clean energy career exposure and hands-on learning opportunities to a broad student population, according to the announcement from MassCEC. The grant was one of 22 awarded in category, with a total amount awarded of $4.7 million in the category and $27 million overall. See more information in the announcement, below.
The City Council voted to purchase the modular classrooms currently being used as the temporary Watertown High School at Moxley Field. (Courtesy by City of Watertown)
City Councilors unanimously voted to purchase the modular classrooms set up on Moxley Field on Tuesday. The City will make up the cost by eliminating leasing costs, and by owning them there will no longer be a rush to start a project to renovate or rebuild Watertown Middle School and there are hopes of reducing the price tag for that project. In the latest meeting regarding the future of the Middle School, City Manager George Proakis said buying the modulars for $2.2 million makes sense. It gives School and City officials time to plan because the current lease of the modulars ends on April 30, 2026.
