Letters

LETTER: Resident Not Happy With District’s Response to Asbestos in Schools

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Dear Editor,

In the concluding paragraph of your February 7, 2019 “… Schools are Safe” article, Town Council President Mark Sideris proffered a blanket criticism:

“I see comments that are completely false and people take it as what is true, but it’s not.”

In fairness, can you ask Council President Sideris to be specific? Whose comments? What’s “not true”? Can Mary Russo – or anyone who is being accused of making “completely false” statements – be given a chance to respond? Please note that Mary Russo, a long-time respected teacher and resident, forced the Watertown Public Schools administration to comply with the law by filing a complaint in 2017 with the state Department of Labor Standards. The state issued sanctions and fines. The school administration did not just “decide to do another survey” as the Superintendent claims.  Watertown had no choice. Leaving out that context disrespects Ms. Russo and undermines the ability of citizens and the press to fairly judge the credibility of the parties making statements about these issues. 

Thanks for your consideration. Sincerely,Paul Davis

Around Town

Watertown School Administrator Killed by Hit-and-Run Driver in Somerville

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Allison Donovan Watertown Public School’s K-8 Literacy Coordinator and long-time educator, died after being hit in a hit-and-run incident. Watertown school administrator Allison Donovan died after being struck by a pickup truck in a hit-and-run incident in Somerville. She served multiple roles in her time in Watertown, most recently as the districts’ K-8 Literacy Coordinator. The Middlesex District Attorney’s office announced that Donovan was one of two pedestrians struck in West Somerville on Friday night at approximately 7:16 p.m. She was taken to Mount Auburn Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. She was 40 years old.

Perfection Towing

New Phys. Ed. Option to be Offered for Watertown High Students

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A requirement by the state that Massachusetts students must take a physical education class each year of high school has complicated schedules, especially for seniors, but Waterotwn school officials are introduced new alternatives to help the situation. On Monday, Joe Lampman, the district’s Coordinator of Health, Physical Education and Wellness, and WHS Principal Shirley Lundberg presented a new alternative to the School Committee that could allow students to take an alternative class, while still fulling the PE requirement. They also presented new classes that include wellness as well as physical education as part of the change to the WHS Program of Studies. When the requirement that students must have at least a semester of physical education each year of high school started five years ago it was not popular, Lampman recalled. “I taught senior PE when I first started five years ago,” Lampman said.

Asbestos

School Officials Confident Asbestos Hazards Have Been Dealt With, Schools are Safe

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Responding to concerns of parents and staff, the Watertown Public Schools administration presented a report on asbestos in the town’s schools on Monday night. Afterward, School Committee members said they are confident that Watertown’s students and teachers are safe from asbestos exposure. Many of the calls and emails came after an online petition started by people concerned about asbestos in the Watertown Public Schools. The petition cites the suffering of a former Watertown teacher, and calls for the closing of the Watertown High School and Watertown Middle School buildings until the asbestos hazards are identified and dealt with. Because Watertown’s schools were built during the “age of asbestos,” Superintendent Dede Galdston said, asbestos is certainly something to be concerned with.

Schools

School Building Committee Supports Rebuilding 2 Elementary Schools, Renovating Third

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The plan for the Hosmer School campus presented to the School Building Committee on Jan. 23. it shows the brand new school, and three parking areas. The cost estimate for rebuilding two of Watertown’s three elementary schools — while the third is thoroughly renovated — came in close enough to the price of the alternative of renovating the three schools for the School Building Committee to recommend going for the new construction option. Representatives from project designer Ai3 Architects and owners project manager Daedalus Projects presented the cost estimates at the Jan.

Around Town

Mother Shares Her Mission of Ending the Cycle of Violence After Losing Her Son in a Shooting

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Tina Chéry shared the story of how she became dedicated to peace after her son was gunned down in his Boston neighborhood with an audience at Watertown Middle School. In the early 1990s, Tina Chéry thought she had found her place in the world as a stay-at-home mom and good citizen, as someone who attended church and donated to people in need, even if she felt removed from the problems that affected her Dorchester neighborhood. The mother of three and her husband had cut back on spending so she could be there when her 15-year-old son Louis Brown came home from school every day. Theirs was the family who welcomed in the neighborhood children, with hotdogs and hamburgers, and lemonade and popsicles in the summer. “That was my house.

Schools

Watertown Students Make MassBay’s Dean’s List

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MassBay Community College is pleased to announce its 2018 Fall Semester Dean’s List. Full-time students who have earned a 3.50 or higher grade point average (GPA) are included and acknowledged on the Dean’s List. This semester’s list includes 288 students. The students from Watertown on the 2018 Fall Semester’s Dean List are: 

Anastasia Maria Stavridi, Liz K. Cam, Michael A. Echavarria, and Shakti Singh Katheria

Schools

Girls Invited to STEM Camp During February Break at Minuteman

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The following information was provided by Minuteman High School:

Are you a seventh- or eighth-grade girl who likes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and wants to learn more about those subjects in a supportive, female-oriented environment? Do you enjoy doing projects that are both fun and educational? Are you interested in finding out about exciting career paths in STEM? Then register now for the Girls in STEM camp at Minuteman High School in Lexington that will be held from 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. during the week of February 19-22, 2019. Space is limited, so don’t wait!