Schools

School Budget Has Funds for Elementary Foreign Language Classes, None for Shrinking Class Sizes

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The budget presented to the Watertown School Committee Monday night calls for adding more than 20 new positions, including staff to start teaching foreign language at the elementary schools, but it did not have any funds to reduce class sizes in the elementary schools. The total request for Fiscal Year 2017 to the Town Manager and Town Council is $44.149 million, an increase of $2.69 million over the Fiscal 2016 request (the current school year). That is a 6.51 percent increase. The Foreign Language in the Elementary School, or FLES, program is one of the biggest additions. Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald said the district would hire three teachers to begin teaching kindergartners a foreign language (likely Spanish).

Schools

MassBay Community College Hosting Job Fairs for Health, Technology

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MassBay Community College announced two upcoming job fairs, one focusing on health science and the other for technology internships. Annual Health Career Exploration Fair
Massachusetts Bay Community College will hold its second annual Health Career Exploration Fair on Saturday, April 9, 2016 10 a.m.-12 p.m. College faculty, staff and current students will be on hand to greet and welcome prospective students and their families to the Framingham campus to showcase the Health Science programs and possible career paths for students. The Health Career Exploration Fair is an opportunity for prospective students to meet and talk with current students, faculty and staff to learn about the degree and certificate programs that are available at MassBay, as well as the non-credit program offerings including; Practical Nursing, Associate Degree Nursing, Surgical Technology, Paramedicine, Emergency Medical Technician, Central Processing, Radiologic Technology, Medical Coding, Medical Office, Phlebotomy, Nursing Assistant, Clinical Healthcare Informatics Certificate and CPR Training. The Fair will include a tour of campus, tours of the lab areas, financial aid information table, student support services, on-the-spot admissions, and more. At a time when the healthcare industry is searching for employees who have skills in the high-demand health science fields, MassBay is providing a much needed source of workers who have the education and training to fill these critically important positions.

Schools

Gift from Ernie Boch Jr. to Watertown Schools Will Make Sweet Music

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Watertown students will be making some sweet music on some new instruments thanks to a gift of $10,000 worth of new music equipment given to the Watertown Public Schools by Ernie Boch Jr.

The Norwood-based automotive dealer recently donated 18 pieces of new music equipment for the music program through a grant from his charity Music Drives Us. Boch visited Watertown High School Wednesday to present a plaque commemorating the award, and to listen to the 30 member high school band perform. He said that he started the charity 10 years ago to supplement budget cuts to school music programs.

“Every study tells us that if you study music at a younger age it makes you a better person in many, many ways,” Boch said. “It actually rewires your brain. It helps you learn a second language easier, music is a second language.

School Budget

Watertown School Committee Holding Hearing on School Budget

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The Watertown School Committee will hold a public hearing on next year’s school budget on April 4. 

Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald’s office sent out the following notice:

In accordance with the provisions of Chapter 71, Section 38N, the Watertown School Committee will hold a Public Hearing on its proposed FY2017 Budget on Monday, April 4, 2016 at 7:00 p.m., in the Mastrangelo Council Chambers, Watertown Town Hall, 149 Main Street, Watertown, MA 02472. A copy of the FY2017 Proposed Budget will be available to the public in the Office of the Superintendent of Schools and on the Watertown Public Schools website, watertown.k12.ma.us, forty-eight (48) hours before the date of the public meeting.

Art

See Artwork from Watertown Students at the Watertown Mall

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The annual Watertown Public Schools Art Show will be held at the Watertown Mall beginning April 1. The show features artwork from students in the elementary schools, middle school and the high school. This exhibition is open to the public during mall hours. The exhibition will run from Friday, April 1 to Monday, April 25. A reception to celebrate the work of WPS art students in all schools will be held on Monday, April 4 from 5-7 p.m.

The artworks were created by students in the following teacher’s classes:

Donna Calleja, Watertown High
Dan Dressler, Watertown High
Elizabeth Donnellan, Watertown Middle School
Haein Kim, Hosmer School
AnnaMaria Lochiatto, Lowell School
Jaclyn Meyer, Cunniff School

Schools

Watertown High Welcomes Three Guest Speakers for SPEAK Week

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The annual SPEAK Week is back at Watertown High School (WHS) March 28-April 1!! SPEAK (Sharing Personal Experiences and Knowledge) Week is organized by Wayside Multi Service-Center’s Watertown Youth Coalition (WYC) Peer Leaders from WHS, the WYC announced. Every year WYC Peer Leaders organize a fun filled week with special guest speakers, activities and knowledge building that relate to helping youth make positive healthy choices. This year SPEAK Week welcomes three guest speakers:

Get Real Teen Council, presenting on healthy relationships and consent, brought by the WHS Feminist Group. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, civil rights activist who worked with Dr. Martin Luther King, brought by World of Watertown, Watertown Public School Department, and the Watertown Police Department, discussing nonviolent conflict reconciliation.

Schools

Grades May Shift to Different Schools to Relieve Overcrowded Classes

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The grades served by each school in Watertown schools could change significantly in an effort to relieve overcrowded classrooms, Superintendent Jean Fitzgerald told the Town Council Tuesday night. Watertown School officials got their request to apply for state money to rebuild or renovate Watertown High School approved by the Town Council Tuesday night. The new high school building would also be used for other grades, resulting in fewer students at the middle school and the three elementary schools. The town’s elementary schools, particularly the Cunniff, have become overcrowded, but Fitzgerald said the high school was identified as the building in greatest need of replacement, according to a consultant’s study a few years ago. She has a plan that to use the new school to help other schools.

Schools

Report Finds Watertown Schools Need to Pay Special Attention to Finances, Special Ed

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A consultant hired to review the financial mishaps of the Watertown Public Schools from a couple years ago presented recommendations to improve financial practices and also looked deeply at the special education program – a high cost area for the district. Monday night, the School Committee and Town Council received the report from RSM US. The group interviewed more than 50 people and spent months working on the report, said Craig Finley, the project lead. While there are nearly 30 recommendations (see the report here) to improve what’s being done in the Watertown schools, Finley said in general they are in good shape. “The biggest thing we foundation here is strong support of the schools,” said Finley, who worked in public schools, including as an assistant superintendent in the Whitman-Hanson Regional School District.