Schools

Architect Chosen to Design Watertown High School Project

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Meet the new architect, same as the old architect. The firm chosen by the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s Design Selection Panel — Ai3 Architects of Wayland — is the same group designing the three elementary school renovation projects in town. The decision, made at a meeting at MSBA headquarters in Boston on Tuesday, pleased Watertown Public Schools officials, said Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston. “We are very, very excited that Ai3 was the top ranked design firm selected to work forward with our high school project,” Galdston said. The panel included 13 members appointed by the MSBA, plus three representatives from Watertown — Galdston, Town Manager Michael Driscoll and Town Council President Mark Sideris.

Schools

Superintendent Unveils Goals for Watertown Public Schools

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Dede Galdston, current assistant superintendent in Billerica, interviewed for the Watertown Superintendent’s job Monday night. Watertown Superintendent Dede Galdston’s goals for 2019-20 include providing more feedback to teachers, working on the school building projects and community more with parents and the community. The School Committee heard the final draft of the goals at the September School Committee meeting. The goals are:

Goal 1 (Student Learning): Fair, Effective Educator Goal Setting, and EvaluationGoal 2 (District Improvement): Effective communication with larger school communityGoal 3 (District Improvement): Building for the Future Elementary and High School ProjectGoal 4 (Equity): Systems and structures that ensure equityGoal 5 (Student Learning): Increase student achievement for all students in the Watertown Public SchoolsGoal 6 (Student Learning): Tiered systems of supportGoal 7 (District Improvement): Shared vision for district improvement

Galdston said she wants to make sure teachers are observed and also get feedback about their performance. “Last year, we focused on educational goal setting which did very well.

Schools

Minuteman Head Named Semifinalist for Superintendent of the Year

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Minuteman High School Supertinendent-Director Edward Bouquillon has been named semifinalist for superintendent of the year. The following announcement was provided by Minuteman High School:

Dr. Edward A. Bouquillon, who has been Superintendent-Director of Minuteman High School since 2007 and recently presided over the most notable and far-reaching achievement of his tenure there – the opening of a new $145 million Minuteman facility that he ceaselessly advocated for and took more than a decade from inception to completion – was recently chosen as a semi-finalist for the 2019 National Superintendent of the Year Award given by the National Association of School Superintendents (NASS). Dr. Bouquillon was nominated by Ford Spalding, the Dover representative to the Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical School District and chair of the Minuteman School Building Committee. The award winner was Dr. Nettie Collins-Hart of Hazelwood School District in Florissant, Missouri. There were three other semi-finalists in addition to Dr. Bouquillon.

Schools

Watertown Middle School Expanding Offerings in Sports Programs

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Watertown Middle School

Watertown Middle School has a tradition of not cutting players from its after school sports teams, but some sports have attracted many more players than can play in games. The School Committee approved a change to the program to allow more students to participate. The Watertown Athletic Department has come up with a plan to add intramural teams for the most popular sports, as well as adding a few new teams, said Superintendent Dede Galdston. “We looked at various option we can implement to reduce the impact of how many kids we have who want to play middle school sports,” Galdston said. “Currently there is a no cut policy — not a policy, but a practice that has been around for a long time.”

Schools

Asbestos Abatement Will be Costly in School Projects, Soil for Foundations in Good Shape

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Asbestos was found deep in the walls of Hosmer Elementary School, which will result in higher costs of demolition when the new school is built.

Architects gave the School Building Committee some good news and some bad news with the costs related to hazardous material removal and the grounds where foundations will be built for the upcoming construction projects. In preparation for the construction projects at Watertown’s three elementary schools, architects have been looking at the conditions for demolition of the current schools, and to put in foundations for the new ones. The Bad News

When the schools were examined the schools for hazardous materials some asbestos was found in some hidden places, said Scott Dunlap, project architect for Ai3 Architects. The school with the most was Hosmer Elementary. “What we found at Hosmer we have only seen it a couple times,” Dunlap said, who described a layer of asbestos buffering between the exterior brick wall and the cement blocks inside.

Around Town

Architects Discuss School Gardens, Playgrounds & Outside Learning Spaces

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A drawing showing the outdoor learning space outside Lowell Elementary School. The amenities surrounding Watertown’s three elementary schools after they are rebuilt or renovated are taking shape, but the School Building Committee and others have some concerns about handicap accessibility, deliveries and more. The designers of the town’s three elementary schools, Ai3 Architects, showed the School Building Committee details of the plans for the playgrounds, outdoor learning spaces, school gardens and even delivery areas at the Aug. 21 meeting. Gardens & Outdoor Learning Areas

The designers are working with teachers, staff and the district’s School Garden Coordinator, Judy Fallows, to help design the school gardens.

Schools

Architects Vying to Design New Watertown High School Narrowed to Finalists

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The quality of the of architects seeking to design the new Watertown High School pleased Watertown officials as well as members of the state board that chose the finalists. The Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) Designer Selection Panel met Tuesday and heard presentations from eight firms vying to be the designer for the WHS project. Three finalists were chosen.

At Wednesday’s Watertown School Building Committee meeting, Superintendent Dede Galdston said the crop of architects impressed the panel, which works with communities from around Massachusetts that have been selected to be in the state school building program. “The Designer Selection Panel said this is the best pool of architects they have seen in quite some time,” Galdston said. “This leads us to believe that Watertown is a hot commodity and people want to work here.”

Schools

MassBay Invites Current, Prospective Students to Campus

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The following information was provided by MassBay Community College:

MassBay Community College be open this Saturday, August 24, 2019 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. on the Wellesley Hills campus for students to get ready for the start of the fall semester on September 3, 2019. Prospective students, new students and returning students can apply for admission to the College, register for classes, pay their tuition bills, fill out and drop off financial aid paperwork, speak with an advisor, attend new student orientation, and more. “With August coming to a close, students are starting to finalize their fall semester plans,” said MassBay Assistant Vice President of Enrollment Management Lisa Slavin. “Whether you’re returning from military service, your fall college plans have changed, there is still plenty of time to enroll at MassBay for the fall classes. Course offerings include day, evening, weekend, online, accelerated, and hybrid courses.