Government

Town Council President Sees Development, Communication & Schools as Priorities for New Term

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As the new Town Council term begins, Watertown Council President Mark Sideris looked toward the next two years and said that some of the major focus will be on traffic, development and communication with the public, as well as the upcoming school building projects. Newly elected Town Councilors, School Committee members and Library Trustees were sworn in by Town Clerk John Flynn on Tuesday night at the Mosesian Center for the Arts. After his swearing in, Sideris addressed the audience in the theater at the Arts Center. Development has been a big issue for several years, and Sideris said he would like to take a new approach at looking at new projects in town, from those completed, to those under construction and projects just getting started. “I will be working with the Community Development and Planning Department to coordinate a field trip to visit the sites that have been developed,” Sideris said.

Schools

Architects Present First Visions for What Watertown’s Elementary Schools Could Look Like

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It will be a busy several years, but by 2023 Watertown will have built or newly renovated three elementary schools and the high school. Monday night the architect hired to do the schematic designs laid out the timeline to get there. The elementary schools and the high school are on different schedules, with the Hosmer, the Cunniff and the Lowell planned to be worked on simultaneously, and after those projects are complete it will be about time for construction to begin on Watertown High School, said Scott Dunlap, principal of Ai3, the district’s architects. Watertown school officials got a lot of good news last week. “Last week the most exciting time for a Superintendent occurred over a 24 hour period,” said Superintendent Dede Galdston.

Schools

Scholarship Available for Students Going to College, Trade School

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A-1 Auto Transport is a leader in the moving industry that is currently looking to extend their scholarship program to eligible students in Watertown, Massachusetts, the company announced. These scholarships may consist of $250, $500 or $1,000 a year. Any students with a GPA of 3.0 and enrolled at a trade school, college or accredited university may enter for a chance at the A-1 scholarship program. Students who would like to take advantage of this opportunity must write an essay about the auto transport industry in 1,000 or more words. The essay can explain or give information on any of A-1’s shipping services.

Ai3

Architect Hired to Design Renovation/Rebuilding of Watertown Elementary Schools

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The Town Council approved $1.378 million to hire an architect to do the schematic designs for rebuilding, renovating and/or adding on to Watertown’s three elementary schools. 

A committee of school and town officials put out a request for proposals and received two bids. The firm they chose was Ai3 of Wayland, the same group that was hired over the summer to advise the Town and Schools about how to proceed with modernizing the town’s schools. The Town Council voted unanimously to fund the architect’s contract on Tuesday night. School Committee Chairman John Portz thanked the Town Council for approving the funding. “It is an incredibly exciting project,” Portz said.

Around Town

Watertown High Renovation Project Accepted Into State School Building Program

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The proposal to renovate or rebuild Watertown High School was accepted by the Massachusetts School Building Authority on Wednesday morning, meaning approximately half the cost of the project will be reimbursed by the state assuming Watertown clears the remaining hurdles. 

Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston sent out a Tweet at 11:20 a.m. announcing that the project was accepted in the the MSBA. The MSBA Board just unanimously voted to invite Watertown into the Eligibility Period for a core program project for Watertown High school! — Deanne Galdston (@WatertownSupt) December 13, 2017
This was the fourth time that Watertown School officials had applied to get funding to renovate the aging high school, and it had already made it farther than previous efforts by being considered for being admitted into the program. Galdston said simply in an email, “We are thrilled!!!” when asked about the invitation into the MSBA program.

Schools

School Committee Concerned About Watertown’s MCAS Scores

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Fewer than half of Watertown elementary school students scored in “meet expectations” or higher on the state’s standardized test in 2017, and in many cases scores in the Watertown Public Schools lagged behind the state average. The results concerned members of the School Committee, who heard a presentation on the scores on Monday night. Assistant Superintendent for Teaching, Learning and Assessment Theresa McGuinness noted that elementary school students took the “next generation” MCAS last spring. The year before they took the PARCC Test and before that they took the original MCAS. Watertown’s results followed a similar trend as the state average.

Schools

Two Watertown Students Awarded Scholarships by MassBay College

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MassBay Community College is pleased to announce 101 students were awarded more than $92,000 in scholarships at its bi-annual Scholarship Awards ceremony, including two from Watertown. The generous donations received by the MassBay Foundation, makes it possible for these 101 students to continue their studies a little easier. Among the students who received these scholarships are single mothers, veterans, first to go to college students, and many more who these scholarships makes all the difference. MassBay students Paul Gorham and Allyson Kazanjian, both from Watertown, were recently honored at MassBay Community College’s Fall Donor Dinner and Scholarship Awards night. Gorham was honored with a General Scholarship and a Health Sciences Scholarship
Kazanjian was honored with a General Scholarship and Merit Scholar Athlete Scholarship

All donations made to the MassBay Foundation go directly to students in the form of scholarships.

Around Town

Perkins School’s Inclusion Speaker Delivers TEDx Talk in Boston

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Jaimi Lard, a Perkins School for the Blind Diversity and Inclusion Speaker, delivered a TEDx BeaconStreet talk called “The Courage To Be Inclusive.” Lard, who has been deaf and blind since birth, lives independently and has lead an active life. She has surfed, skied, swung on a trapeze and testified before Congress, according to Perkins School. On Saturday, Nov. 18, Lard was one of the speakers who took the stage at the JFK Library in Boston to deliver a powerful message of importance to both them, their communities and society as a whole.